Geographical distribution of rural dumpsites in North-East Region from Romania

This paper proposes a spatial analysis of statistical data concerning the number and areas of rural dumpistes for local administrative units (LAU in Romanian’s rural terrirory = communes) from 6 counties of North-East region using thematic cartography.Database created at local scale is correlated with demographic factors (eg population density) taking into account the various geographical conditions between these 6 counties (Neamt, Suceava, Botosani, Iasi,Bacau and Vaslui).Rural dumpsites have been identified by the county environmental authorities in 2008 and 2009, deadline for closure and rehabilitation being July 16, 2009. The large number of these sites reflect the lack of organized waste management system in rural territory. Sanitation services are still poorly developed in rural areas and the waste generated and uncollected are often disposed in open dumps or river banks (mainly in mountain areas). Geographic location of human settlements influences the disposal of waste, most of these dumpsites were located in their proximity.These bad practices are still present being revealed by field observations. Thus,demographic background (rural population share of total county population, population density at LAU level) and local geographical conditions (mountain, hill/ plateau, plains/ valley corridor) reflect the territorial disparities between counties (regional scale) and communes (local scale) regarding the geographical distribution of rural dumpsites.