[GA - PASSED] Landfill Regulation Act

Landfill Regulation Act
Category: Environmental | Area of Effect: All Businesses - Mild
Proposed by: Cretox State | Onsite Topic​

The World Assembly,

Understanding the importance of landfills in providing a cost-effective method for the disposal of non-compostable and non-recyclable solid waste,

Concerned by the potential environmental and health hazards of solid waste landfills, and

Wishing to provide a regulatory framework for the safe operation of solid waste landfills to mitigate such hazards, hereby:

1. Defines for the purposes of this resolution:
   1. a "solid waste landfill" (SWL) as a location that receives nonhazardous solid waste for the purposes of long-term or permanent storage; and
   2. "leachate" as any liquid containing chemicals or particles originating from the solid waste stored in a SWL;
2. Prohibits the construction of SWLs in ecologically important areas or areas where their normal operations would cause significant danger to the wellbeing of nearby permanent residents;
3. Forbids the long-term storage of nonhazardous solid waste in a manner or a location where it can pose a significant threat to the surrounding environment or groundwater;
4. Requires that all SWLs:
   1. include effective physical barriers designed to protect the surrounding environment and groundwater from waste contained in them and leachate originating from them;
   2. include effective systems for the collection and removal of leachate for treatment and environmentally safe disposal; and
   3. are operated in such a way that minimizes potential environmental and health hazards resulting from their operations, within reason;
5. Mandates that member nations:
   1. ensure the regular testing of groundwater and other aquatic environments that could reasonably be affected by leachate in order to gauge the effectiveness of relevant existing SWL regulations and the need for further regulations; and
   2. establish, if such does not already exist, a state agency or similar organization with the responsibility of inspecting and regulating SWLs in accordance with this resolution and reviewing complaints regarding the operation of particular SWLs;
6. Clarifies that regulations implemented pursuant to this resolution must remain in effect after a SWL stops receiving additional waste material until such a time when said regulations are no longer effective or necessary in providing for the environmentally safe maintenance of the SWL site; and
7. Encourages member nations to promote methods of waste reduction to reduce their reliance on solid waste landfills as a form of waste management.

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• Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
• Vote Against if you want the Delegate to vote Against the resolution.
• Vote Abstain if you want the Delegate to abstain from voting on this resolution.
• Vote Present if you are personally abstaining from this vote.

Honeydewistan:

Strong, strong against. Extremely micromanagey. Invalid vote

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Noah's Second Country:

Against, it does feel a bit too niche for a GA resolution.

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Cretox State:

It's certainly niche, but landfills have pronounced negative effects on the surrounding environment and people's health when not regulated. The WA has passed similarly niche resolutions in the past, including on food waste, desalination, and sterilizing needles.

Edit: Present, by the way.

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CD- betterThanFlash:

Against

This landfill has no coverage on how poor countries fund the compliance costs.

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