Decades of unmanaged waste near Behshahr have contaminated the soil and threaten groundwater and Miankaleh, one of Iran’s most valuable wetland ecosystems.
A short distance from the internationally recognised Miankaleh Wetland, decades of accumulated waste in Behshahr have created a growing crisis for the region’s soil, water and public health. More than 150 tonnes of waste are generated in the county every day, some of which is transported to Qarah Tappeh, a site that, according to reports, lacks standard infrastructure for containing and treating toxic leachate. Academic studies have also found high concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and leachate around the site. In a province that has struggled with waste management for years, the proximity of this pollution to Miankaleh, one of Iran’s most valuable ecosystems, has intensified fears of a wider environmental crisis.
Instead of the cool Caspian air, a heavy stench has settled over Behshahr, emanating from decades of rotting waste in an area known as Qarah Tappeh. “During the few days we were in the city, the smell engulfed the entire area. It became so bad that we had to leave early and change our travel plans,” one visitor to Behshahr said.
What turns this stench into a serious warning is the dangerously short distance between this vast accumulation of waste and the Miankaleh Wetland. One of Iran’s earliest wetlands to be registered under the Ramsar Convention, Miankaleh is recognised as one of the richest ecosystems in West Asia and hosts more than 500,000 migratory birds each year, including endangered species. Yet Miankaleh has suffered mass bird deaths in recent years. According to ISNA, more than 30,000 migratory birds died in the wetland over 2019 and 2020. This invaluable ecosystem now lies only two kilometres southwest of the landfill site.
Behshahr’s waste-management crisis stretches back some 60 years. According to ISNA, for nearly six decades the city’s rubbish and waste were dumped at the entrance to the Abbasabad recreational and tourist area, at a site locally known as “Ashghal Tappeh,” or “Garbage Hill.” The situation generated years of public anger and complaints. A hospital had even been built next to the waste dump, prompting protests from its management, staff and patients over conditions in the area. In June 2024, authorities finally took measures to bring the site under control following a special order from the Mazandaran judiciary.
Behshahr County, with a population of more than 160,000, produces over 150 tonnes of waste every day. Although a composting plant was built in 1994–95 with a designed capacity of 200 tonnes per day, ageing equipment, funding shortages and the absence of waste separation at source mean that it now converts only around 30 to 40 percent of incoming waste into compost. The remainder is transferred untreated to Qarah Tappeh.
Images circulated on social media show an enormous mountain of rubbish abandoned at the site, with no visible infrastructure for treating leachate or preventing contaminants from seeping into the ground. It is also unclear which authority authorised the use of the Qarah Tappeh land for this purpose.
Academic research reveals the scale of the problem more clearly. In a study by Hosseinzadeh and colleagues published in the journal New Findings in Applied Geology, researchers collected 12 soil samples from the landfill and surrounding agricultural land and analysed them using advanced ICP-OES and ICP-MS techniques.
The findings were alarming. Average concentrations of heavy metals including cobalt, cadmium, zinc, copper, arsenic and nickel exceeded international standards in all samples. Samples collected from the landfill itself and two nearby locations showed the highest levels of contamination. Analysis of one sample of leachate—the toxic liquid produced as waste decomposes—also showed high concentrations of heavy metals.
The central problem is that, because the site lacks impermeable liners, leachate can easily seep into groundwater. Mazandaran Province’s director-general of environmental protection has previously warned about waste leachate entering groundwater sources.
In a region with high annual rainfall, the risk becomes considerably more serious, as contamination can spread more widely through the surrounding ecosystem. Under standards set by Iran’s Department of Environment, every landfill should have a leachate-collection system, methane-gas extraction infrastructure and impermeable liners. At Qarah Tappeh, these safeguards are entirely absent. Experts argue that despite investments in waste-management infrastructure, the failure to maintain and modernise the composting plant has been one of the principal reasons the crisis has persisted.
News agencies have also reported that residents living near Qarah Tappeh have complained of increased respiratory problems, chronic headaches and eye irritation in recent months. Local doctors have warned that prolonged exposure to toxic gases released by decomposing waste can be dangerous, particularly for children and older people, who are among the most vulnerable groups.
There are also concerns about heavy metals entering locally grown agricultural produce. Farmland around the site is irrigated with groundwater that may itself be contaminated by landfill leachate. If contamination enters crops in this way, it could directly contaminate the human food chain.
The Threat to Miankaleh
The landfill’s proximity to Miankaleh is a serious cause for alarm. Studies of Miankaleh’s waters have already detected concerning levels of heavy metals including nickel, aluminium, lead, arsenic and mercury, while monitoring has also found statistically significant variations in chromium concentrations. Another study found that the maximum cadmium concentration detected in Miankaleh water samples exceeded permissible discharge limits established to prevent irreversible pollution and degradation of wetlands.
Research has also identified municipal and agricultural wastewater as among the principal sources through which heavy metals enter wetland ecosystems. If landfill leachate and contaminated runoff were to reach the wetland, they could further increase the risk of eutrophication—the excessive accumulation of nutrients in water that depletes oxygen and can kill aquatic organisms.
The destruction of Miankaleh would be not only a national environmental disaster but an irreversible loss to the world’s natural heritage.
Behshahr is only one example of a much broader crisis affecting Iran’s northern provinces. Waste has inflicted deep damage on the already fragile environment of northern Iran, and the problem has become increasingly severe over the past two decades.
The absence of a comprehensive waste-management strategy, shortages of standard treatment facilities, the infiltration of leachate into groundwater and the burning of mixed waste have placed these regions at serious environmental risk. Environmental experts stress that decomposing waste releases a range of environmentally destructive gases as well as toxic leachate, both of which contribute to long-term ecological damage.
Experts argue that any lasting solution requires the full implementation of waste separation at source, the construction of a properly engineered sanitary landfill far from the wetland and residential areas, and the conversion of organic waste into energy through biogas systems. They also say that Iran’s Department of Environment must continuously monitor soil and water quality in the area and make the results transparently available to the public. Such measures have also been recommended in United Nations Development Programme reports on waste management in coastal regions.
Despite repeated warnings from environmental activists and the findings of scientific studies, it remains unclear which authority authorised the use of the Qarah Tappeh land as a waste-disposal site.
What is clear is that if the current situation continues, the region faces the risk of irreversible environmental damage. Completely clearing the site and repairing the damage already inflicted will require a comprehensive plan and sustained oversight.
Until then, the northern winds will continue to carry into Behshahr the stench of a wetland being pushed towards death.
