Dozens of Greenpeace Argentina activists blockade the entrance to a toxic waste facility in the north of Argentine Patagonia owned by Treater S.A and used by oil companies like Shell and Total to dispose of the waste created by their dangerous fracking operations in the region. Banners are displayed with the messages “Stop Fracking Patagonia” in Spanish and English, calling for an end to the oil age.
The toxic landfill site, equivalent in size to 15 football fields, is used by oil companies that are fracking Patagonia. Local regulations require that hazardous waste treatment or disposal facilities be at least 8km away from people and towns, and at least 5 km away from bodies of water and crops. The landfill is also located 5 km away from the Añelo community, 4.9 km from agricultural fields and 3.7 km from the Neuquen River, which infringes Neuquen’s Provincial Law, and Argentina’s General Law on Environment.