Waste Connection
Environmental Partnership between Sumgait and Ludwigshafen
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The city of Sumgait in Azerbaijan is one of the most polluted places in the world. Until five years ago, the face of the city was marked by puddles of oil and mercury and im-provised waste disposal sites. Large areas had been contaminated by the Soviet chemical industry. With the help of partner city Ludwigshafen, Sumgait began systematically registering these areas in 2003, cleaning them up, disposing of waste in better fashion and making the population more sensitive to protecting the environment – with success. Although many problems remain unsolved, Sumgait is now considered an example from which other cities in the region can learn.
(Osteuropa 4-5/2008, pp. 481–495)