Waste Management Blueprint for the Galápagos Islands

52. Current Waste ManagementSituation in the Galápagos IslandsThe management of municipalsolid waste in the Galápagos iscomplex, and has not evolved at thesame pace as the islands’urbanization and economic growth.Although solid waste disposal wasidentified as an issue several yearsago, the Municipalities of the fourinhabited islands have not hadsufficient resources or localtechnical expertise to adequatelyaddress the problem to date.The waste collection and transportationsystems in the GalápagosIslands are not well-organized anddo not extend to all inhabited areas.In areas where a collection mechanism does exist, old or inadequateequipment is used, and there are no sanitary landfills on any of the inhabitedislands for the final disposal of waste. The places for final disposal can becharacterized as dumpsites, where waste gets dumped and openly burned.In addition to household waste, the dumpsites contain chemicals and biohazardoushospital waste. These chemicals and toxic materials leach into theground, contaminating scarce groundwater sources, and create toxic gaseswhen burned. The dumpsites attract and provide breeding ground forparasites, rats and insects and help to spread these invasive species. Illegaldumping of waste also takes place.Litter is also a problem. This is primarily due to a lack of awareness of thepopulation, but also due to waste dropped from waste collection trucks andlight waste blown away from open-sky dumpsites.2.1 Main Causes of Marine Pollutionin the Galápagos IslandsWhile some of the marine pollution in the Galápagos is from litter blown tosea from the inhabited islands, the primary source is tourism ships. While itis legal for the tourism ships to dispose of their organic waste in the waterssurrounding the islands, plastics that are not completely separated from theorganic waste also often end up in the water. These plastics include bags,bottle caps/stoppers, labels and small bottles. Finally, due to a lack of treatmentfacilities, all ships dump their wastewater and highly contaminatedbilge waters directly into the sea.WASTE MANAGEMENT BLUEPRINT FOR THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS