Forest protection officers have discovered 302 landfills in or near state forests in Rivne and Volyn regions.
The violations were discovered in the forests that most often suffer from littering during a two-week survey, the Polissia Forestry Office reports on Facebook.
It is noted that foresters have begun to clean up the dumps, and representatives of local communities will help to eliminate some of them.
"The situation is improving in the places of accumulation of garbage, but it is not completely clean. Not all waste can be eliminated easily and quickly. The most littered forests are those next to residential areas. And the garbage in the forest is household waste. From plastic, glass to agricultural waste," the press service said.
The report emphasized that one of the sources of littering of forests is community landfills, as they often do not have protective barriers. In addition, the wind carries garbage over large areas, which increases the risk of fires.
Foresters noted that littering of forests is a common problem. However, it will not be possible to solve it in 2024-2025.
"It would be much easier and simpler if everyone understood from which small steps the problem becomes serious. Then at least new mountains of garbage would not appear in the forest 100 meters from the house. And foresters would have the opportunity, together with communities, to take better care of authorized landfills. They would not waste efforts and resources on cleaning spontaneous garbage dumps," they said.
The press service added that they plan to install photo traps in the forests in order to identify and fine the scavengers in the future.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, the Kobeliaky community in Poltava Oblast plans to eliminate and reclaim a 1.3-hectare landfill in the Kremenchuk forestry in 2024.
