The stench of decaying garbage and plastic lingers in the air, infiltrating the homes in Didi Lilo, a settlement located near the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill outside the Georgian capital Tbilisi. 

The landfill was initially presented by the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office as an EU-standard project and, as the plans aligned with types of landfills used in Europe, many environmental organizations did not protest the plan. It was widely believed this landfill would be Georgia’s first EU-standard waste disposal site, however Kety Gujaraidze, a policy analyst at the Tbilisi-based environmental non-government organization Green Alternative, noted that it was clear there were issues with the project from the beginning. “Even though the Didi Lilo project was presented as a Euro standard landfill on paper, the environmental impact assessment was not provided for the landfill, which is not up to Euro standards since it is mandatory to provide such assessment for any Euro standard project,” she explains.  
In 2013, the Georgia-based government watchdog, Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, included the landfill on a list of sites that were exempt from the assessment.

By all accounts, problems with the site were apparent from the beginning. Georgian law stipulates that landfills should be at least two kilometers from residential areas and 13 kilometers from the nearest airport. The landfill in Didi Lilo is too close to both - under two kilometers from the settlement and just seven kilometers from the Tbilisi International Airport. Chai Khana has requested a comment on the lack of environmental impact statement from the LLC Tbilservice Group and will update the article with its response. 

Residents complain that pollution from the trash dump is affecting local farmers and the smell from the trash is making people sick.

The company that manages the facility, Solid Waste Management Company of Georgia,  refused to allow a photographer to document the inside of the facility. Access to garbage around the landfill, however, was easy to obtain: it floats around the site indiscriminately, turning everything around it into a trash dump, including the pasture ground for local cattle. Local residents maintain that it also enters the canal that sends water into the Tbilisi Sea, the main drinking reservoir for the capital.

Nino Chkobadze, the chair of the Greens Movement of Georgia/Friends of the Earth-Georgia, has been studying the landfill since it was established in 2010. Locals say the site was once covered with wheat fields.

Chkobadze’s research has shown mistakes were made at the site from its inception, including its proximity to the population and the locals' claims that their lands were seized to build the site. For instance, when the first of six holes for garbage was opened, it lacked gas collectors even though there were pipes installed to collect fumes. The cleaning system was also not in place. While one was retrofitted, the site continues to leak liquids from the waste. When the second hole was opened, it was discovered that the trash was being dumped into an underground water source. 

In response, the city has changed the landfill’s management several times and taken some steps to deal with major issues. For instance, the city paid for waste water processors to be installed to remove the smell—but they do not work on rainy days.

The locals had held multiple protests over the years and Chkhobadze had been vocal about the matter from the beginning. She continues to work with the municipality and city council on the issue and has pushed for the installation of gas collectors to eliminate the smell and reduce the dangers of methane inhalation, as well as fixing other problems with the site.  

"I believe that a lot of the oncological health issues that have arisen among the residents are due to the site," a local resident, Mariam, says while sitting with her grandson in front of her home. "There are only half of us now; the others died or are sick."                                                  

Another local resident, Barbra, notes that trees in the area stopped blooming. “It's not just that, I also believe that the pollution from the site has contributed to my diabetes. The plastic garbage that floats out of the site is a danger to our cattle. I've seen them eat it and get sick. It's heartbreaking,” she says. “And the fumes are released at night when we are sleeping. It’s almost as if they want to keep it hidden from us. But we notice. We feel it in our throats and in our lungs."

"In a written response to Chai Khana, the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill PR department said they plan regular maintenance to the pipes in the waste processing center. The city government plans on getting a €7 million loan to pay for it. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has tentatively agreed to install a gas collection system and process the collected gas into energy. The Green Movement’s Nino Chkobadze warns, however, that these plans have been under discussion for over a year with no sign of activity yet.

She adds that there is just one solution for the landfill: it needs to be moved elsewhere and the site needs to be cleaned up.
“Finding new land to operate on is a critical step that must be taken now, which is not easy since the site also takes in the trash from Gardabani and Rustavi,” she says. “The site is working over capacity, and it is essential to find a new location that is suitable for its operations.”

*This article was updated to include Kety Gujaraidze's quote and additional context about the landfill's lack of an environmental impact assessment.

To reflect the theme of pollution, the photos were taken using an infrared camera, employing infrared light pollution as a statement on the issue.

This Photo story was produced in the framework of Chai Khana Fellowship program - Spring 2023

This photo story was prepared with support from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) South Caucasus Regional Office. All opinions expressed are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of FES.