Wild landfills: in Île-de-France, a citizen collective is tracking polluters

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While some 80,000 tons of waste washed up in nature in France last year, a citizen collective is mobilizing to find clues in the illegal dumpsites of Île-de-France and convict polluters for these environmental crimes. In addition to representing a disaster for the environment and biodiversity, these open dumps are contributing to global warming by producing methane, a greenhouse gas.

In 2020, at least 80,000 tonnes of waste washed up in nature in France, according to the world wide fund for nature (WWF). To fight against environmental crimes and convict polluters, the citizen collective “La Brigade Écologiste” scours the illegal dumpsites of Île-de-France, looking for clues.

These illegal dumps are not only a disaster for the environment and biodiversity, they also contribute to global warming.

Juicy traffic

Difficult to navigate your way through an ocean of garbage. “We see plastic, there, in nature … What it will do later, we do not know”, laments Didier Delpeyrou, founder of the collective La Brigade Écologiste at the microphone of France 24. Dismayed, this one describes the tons of garbage under his feet. Asbestos, pipes and even paints have been dumped here illegally for over a year and a half.

Less than 20 km from Paris, next to the Bois de Bernouille, a protected natural area, this wild landfill covers more than 16 hectares. A waste for Toufik Bouallaga, a resident living near the landfill and a member of La Brigade Écologiste. “It really hurts the heart to know that it could have been an environment for the kids, so that we can walk … There is the forest, trees, it’s good. disgusting.”

Polluters want to avoid landfill, which they charge their customers, however, because prices vary from 12 to 115 euros per tonne for industrial waste. Some individuals agree to take waste illegally, for 2 to 4 euros per tonne. Very juicy traffic.

“It is less risky than organized crime, there is a windfall effect”, explains Didier Delpeyrou. “It brings in a lot of money,” he continues, referring to “several tens of millions of euros”.

Pollution in the air and underground

This environmental disaster is also a source of global warming. Because the fermentation of this waste produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times greater than that of CO2.

“It is estimated that around 20% of French methane emissions, emissions from landfills, in which part of our waste ends up,” says Alice Elfassi, Head of Legal Affairs at Zero Waste France. “And the other part of our waste mostly ends up in an incinerator, which will release fumes into the air and will contribute to its pollution.”

But pollution also takes place underground. Thierry Desforges, a farmer in Leudeville, ordered topsoil, but was swindled. His field has been illegally transformed into a storage site for polluted soil.

“I cannot sow and therefore I cannot grow plants,” he says. “If I cannot grow plants, I cannot feed my farm and I cannot generate turnover …”, continues the farmer. “It is all the same what allows me to live! Me, when I come to see the field, it hurts my heart because it is my working tool. Me, I did not order that, I have not bought that! “

By abandoning waste or having it deposited outside authorized places, polluters risk up to 75,000 euros in fines and two years in prison.