Factors territorial localization and characterization of uncontrolled landfills in Andalusia

Abstract

The study of illegal landfills in Andalusia is complicated and complex because there are no systematic studies and comparable information, which requires a thorough study of them. The objective of this research is to identify territorial factors related to location and characterization of illegal landfills using a methodology for the selection of variables, data collection, field work with a representative sample (110 elements) and exploratory and factorial statistics analysis. The results obtained by this methodology allowed us to define that most of the factors that characterize the location of illegal landfills are: a) in the regional scale, socioeconomic variables of the territory and the environmental sensitivity of the relevant institutions with competencies in this field; and b) in the local scale, the presence of social inequalities, existing types of waste, the management efficiency thereof and the lithological-geomorphological features of the location.