Bioremediation in Kvemo Kartli Region – Marneuli Municipality

For recent years Georgian Society of Nature Explorers “Orchis” has been implementing field surveys of dumpsite areas in western and eastern regions of Georgia in the frames of Keep Georgia Tidy Project. The findings clearly demonstrate that the environs of the dumpsites are largely contaminated with the toxic elements such are: Pb, Gd, Cu and Zn (Gd content was elevated inly in two cases, while Hg has been not detected in the soil at all).

In 2019-2020 our activities were extended to include not only the assessment of the pollution level around the dumpsites, but also to clean up these sites and bioremediate the soil with use of Georgian zeolite, and finally to revegetate them.

In this respect, we have started surveying of dumpsites in Kvemo Kartli Region in this year. Quite many dumpsites were found in Marneuli City, among them in the very centre of the city (on Kostava st., 20 January st., Laghidze st., Robakidze st., Javakhishvili st., Gudiashvili st., Pirosmani st., etc.), some of them distinguishing with heavy pollution.

As a result of the negotiation with the Administration of Marneuli City Hall (the Head of Administration Mrs. Nino Dekanosidze and personnel of relevant departments), cleaning and remediation of the dumpsites located on Pirosmani Street was planned on 21st July of this year. This campaign will be carried out through common efforts of GSNE “Orchis” and representatives of the self-government authorities of Marneuli City. This dumpsite was selected ultimately because according to the preliminary test results, lead concentration was increased in the soil samples from this area. Specifically, the content of this metal 1.5 times exceeded the permissible limit. Besides, the zinc content comprising 212.5 mg/kg equals the tentative permissible concentration what requires consideration. Therefore, the decision was made to clean this dumpsite in the centre of the city, and consequently remediate this site with Georgian zeolite to reduce the pollution level in this territory what should be proven by chemical tests.