The toxic “geysers” have been activated at the hazardous waste landfill in Zgierz. Last year, the city authorities installed several cameras there, which were to monitor situations and cause a faster reaction of the services that would extinguish fires. This time the system did not work.
Poisonous, toxic geysers at the hazardous waste landfill at Miroszewska Street in Zgierz We described a few months ago in the text “If someone discovered it, you would have to evacuate Zgierz and half a boat”.
They were activated again last Friday (April 4). Smoke was not visible immediately, but the smell of smoldering waste was felt from a few kilometers. He was felt, among others, by the founder of the fan page on Facebook “Zielony Zgierz” Krzysztof Wojtalik, who knows the problem like hardly anyone.
Source: Przemysław Jagielski
“Geyser smell”
– Around 18 o'clock I was traveling down Konstantynowska (about a kilometer from the landfill) to Łódź and it was already slightly felt by this specific smell. Returning to Zgierz after 7pm, this pig was already very clear, basically impossible to counterfeit, it was a “geyser” fragrance – describes Wojtalik.
– I made a phone call to councilor Przemek Jagielski, who has a drone. We drove up nearby and we only got up and it turned out that there was beautiful smoke at the landfill. We fled closer and the smoke was indeed within the range of cameras, which should easily detect it, the more that there is also a thermal imaging camera, but as it turned out no one reacted – he adds.
– Recently, the city saved over PLN 100,000 to secure this area with monitoring. I was amazed that there was no reaction of people who operate with cameras and that the disposition to the fire brigade was not sent to come and put out this geyser. Only our report went directly to firefighters who appeared with one host and extinguished this geyser – informs councilman Przemysław Jagielski.
Source: Przemysław Jagielski
“Cameras work”
We asked the spokeswoman of the City Hall in Zgierz about the event.
– The cameras work, are functional, the image is forwarded to the City Guard in Zgierz, which in case of threat reacts by informing the relevant services. Internet sensations on the profiles of some councilors are a mere disinformation – Renata Karolewska told us.
We also asked the commander of Zgierska about the event from Friday city guard.
– Around 3pm there were officials from the municipality at the landfill and they did not feel any smell, and there was no smoke. In these photos from the drone you can see that this smoke settled in the basin, and was practically invisible, this area is very uneven, the whole monitoring mast – he stands far from the place where smoke appeared, there you can not put it closer, because this area is simply unstable – says Dariusz Bereżewski.
He adds that this is the first fire at the landfill this year. He also informs that the monitoring operator also has 8 other monitors in his position, where he must observe what is happening in other parts of the city.
Source: Robert Białas
The city wants to solve the problem of the landfill
We also asked a spokeswoman for the Zgierz magistrate for information about what actions recently the city has taken to solve hazardous waste after former Boruta plants.
Renata Karolewska announced that she managed to obtain PLN 17.5 million from the national reconstruction plan for, among others, a thorough examination of the landfill.
– This did not take place quite without any problems, because originally funds were granted in the net amount, which meant for Zgierz a VAT expenditure in the amount of about PLN 3 million. Ultimately, we got the NFOŚiGW declaration for reimbursement VAT – said the spokeswoman.
– By the end of this year, we plan to make a comprehensive assessment of the state of the environment of degraded areas occurring at the “Boruta” Przemysłów Przemysłów Plant in Zgierz together with the inventory of the area – added Renata Karolewska.
The president of Zgierz Przemysław Staniszewski also informed about obtaining the center from the KPO.
We are taking another key step towards solving the problem of landfills after the former “Boruta” plants! 💪 City Council … Posted by Przemysław Staniszewski – Mayor of the City of Zgierz he Thursday, March 20, 2025
In turn, by the middle of next year, the city must perform a number of other tasks as part of the money awarded:
*Execution of the analysis of the obtained data leading to the preparation of complete documentation for the needs of developing a draft plan to improve the state of the environment. To this end, we will establish a team of substantive experts advising and verifying the scope of prepared and performed research and analytical works.
*Protection of the area where the historical landfills of industrial waste are located by making a monitoring installation and a fence of the area.
*Implementation of project documentation for the reconstruction of roads, enabling access to individual areas in the field of road reconstruction together with a sidewalk or pedestrian and cycling string, lighting, street drainage, removal of collisions in the area of construction with existing infrastructure and reconstruction of the bridge on the Bzura River.
– The deadline is extremely short due to the duration of arrangements, permits, field work and documentation. I would like to emphasize that we fought years to raise funds to improve the state of the environment and reclamation of the area. Meanwhile, we got “as a reward” of the unconnected terms. Nevertheless, we do not give up and we undertook to carry out these tasks – sums up Karolewska.
Source: Piotr Krysztofiak, TVN24.pl
Read also: “If someone discovered it, you would have to evacuate all of Zgierz and half a boat”
Ticking ecological bomb
It is estimated that on 16 hectares after former Boruta plants in Zgierz, there may be from 650 to even 800,000 tons of waste of various types. The company that managed the area years ago brought thousands of tons of hazardous waste to the landfill. Nobody knows what was brought there. The procedure stopped only in 2015.
The documents show that some of these waste may be extremely dangerous, among them there may be even combat gases from the war.
An employee of the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection in Łódź, who wants to remain anonymous, and knows the case for years, last year in an interview with TVN24.pl journalist, he said that if someone decided to discover the area and export waste from it, for example, to the incineration plant, because of the risk you would have to evacuate all of Zgierz and half a boat.
Author/author: Piotr Krysztofiak/PKOZ
Source: tvn24.pl
Source of the main photo: Przemysław Jagielski