The Split landfill was visited the Director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, the Split-Dalmatia County Prefect and the Split Mayor on Monday.
It has been exactly one year since the contract for the rehabilitation of Karepovac was signed in Klis - and the concrete works began one month later, reports Dalmatinski Portal on October 22, 2018.
Because the first phase of the works (of three) is nearing its end, the current situation at the famous Split landfill was visited by Dubravko Ponoš, director of the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, Split mayor Andro Krstulović Opara, and County prefect Blaženko Boban. The trio was guided by Arsen Zoran Tonšić, a representative of contractor G. T. Trade. Tonšić said that the landfill is currently under construction and they are putting on the sealing layers.
“We are waiting to complete the landfill surfaces, drainage ducts, pools for wastewater, and a compound with a pier. The southern, northern and eastern parts are completed, we still have 0.5% of the old waste, or one micro-location. Additionally, we are also working on the access road to the roof. We believe that by the summer we will be finished, and if time is on our side, maybe even earlier,” Tonšić said.
Why have we been smelling Karepovac again lately?
Asked about the unpleasant smells seeping through Split once again, Tonšić said that they are inevitable and they are currently digging the mass of the last year, which is at the highest degree of decomposition, making the smell more intense.
"The micro-locating that we have left we will work on in October and then that should be it. It is most important for us that the gases are not transgressed,” he added.
More than a million cubic meters of waste has been moved.
Since the beginning of the works, they have moved more than a million cubic meters of waste, which is the capacity of the landfill surface they are working on. That should be enough for a period of five years.
When can we expect works to begin on the site once the rehabilitation is complete?
The final opinion of JASPERS is expected over the coming days, followed by the announcement of the tender for the contractor of the site. County prefect Blaženko Boban expects works to begin in the first half of 2020.
“It should take between 15 and 18 months, the trial is another six months, so it should be ready in May 2022,” announced the prefect.
Dubravko Ponoš is pleased with the dynamics of the works at Karepovac.
“Using this as an example, we can see how things work when the problem is seriously addressed. I believe that we will continue at this pace until the end, and be done faster than planned. After the rehabilitation, the citizens of Split and its surroundings will be satisfied with the way in which it was conducted.
It is important that we get all the necessary permissions so that everything is up to the legal standards. There is also an intense effort to get some EU funds, and this also depends on the pace, because European bureaucracy is somewhat more complicated and now we no longer depend on our pace alone, but are waiting for European bureaucracy to do its part,” Ponoš said.
Karepovac will eventually become a 'green oasis' and recreational area.
The Split mayor said that he will be completely satisfied when Karepovac is a green oasis and a recreational area, and announced that the amount of waste that other cities and municipalities dump at the landfill site after rehabilitation will be limited.
