Waste Piles Up at Greenlandic Landfills Amid Capacity Issues

Greenland's municipalities are grappling with a growing waste problem this summer, as landfills struggle to cope with accumulating refuse. The landfill in Narsaq, located in southern Greenland, is experiencing significant pressure, prompting the Kujalleq Municipality to dispatch an additional worker to assist with waste management.

Jakob Petrussen, an environmental engineer for the municipality, stated that the extra help is needed to compact the waste. "There is a need for extra help to pack down the waste. Therefore, we have sent an employee from Qaqortoq to Narsaq, who will pack around 3,000 cubic meters of waste into bags over the next two weeks," he explained. The municipality has also initiated a tender process for contractors to sort the waste into combustible and non-combustible materials.

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There is a need for extra help to pack down the waste. Therefore, we have sent an employee from Qaqortoq to Narsaq, who will pack around 3000 cubic meters of waste into sacks over the next two weeks.

Similar challenges are being reported in the town of Uummannaq in the Avannaata Municipality in western Greenland. Residents have complained about persistent odor issues stemming from the landfill, which is described as constantly overflowing, especially during the warmer summer months.

Sakio Fleischer, the chairman of the municipality's Technical Committee, acknowledged the problem, citing a lack of sufficient capacity at the Uummannaq landfill to handle the volume of waste. The situation highlights a widespread infrastructure challenge in managing waste across Greenland's remote communities.

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The landfill is constantly overflowing, and in the summer it smells a lot.