What are landfills?
First of all, we need to understand the concept of a landfill. What is it and what is the purpose of it.
A landfill site represents a spot, locality or a place for waste disposal.
Waste, ‘garbage’, ash. It all ends up stored or buried on a landfill site (which is the oldest method of disposal).
The simplest way to describe a landfill is to think of a huge hole in the ground that is gradually filled up with our rubbish.
On some landfills there are machines for garbage compression which are used to save up space.
Once a landfill is full, it is covered with a layer of dirt and soil so the land can be used for another purpose.
Old sites have been used as golf courses, football pitches or for grazing animals.
Some landfills are also used for waste management purposes, such as the temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or processing of waste material (sorting, treatment, or recycling).
In one sentence, a landfill is a final destination where all our waste is actually stored or disposed.
The dark side of landfills
Rubbish in the landfills rots and generates methane gas (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Methane gas has to be extracted from the cells and is burnt off, sometimes generating electricity that can be used for machinery or site offices.
Due to the lack of required equipment on some landfills, methane gas, if not extracted on a regular basis can be very dangerous as it is extremely flammable.
Methane gas is produced due to the garbage decomposition and it forms in the form of a gas bubble which constantly seeks to break through to the surface.
If methane gas is exposed even to a tiny spark, it will cause a violent reaction seen as a very fast combustion which results in a huge ball of flame that can cause a conflagration, setting up near objects or waste on fire.
Usually, if the fire hasn’t been put under control in the short period of time, whole landfill can be caught by fire causing a huge contamination of air and living environment.
But the fire isn’t the biggest problem on landfills, there are actually few more threats to the environment.
Aside from sudden combustion and explosions, landfill’s waste waters can actually be even more dangerous to the environment.
Leachate is a poisonous ground pollutant.
Landfill’s waste waters or better known as leachate, forms from organic, chemical or some fluid waste. It is actually a mixture of all three or more…
Since the landfills are usually on open air spaces, they are under exposure of weather conditions such as wind or rain.
Rain is the great enhancer of the creation of leachate.
Rainfall filters through the waste and drags all the filth from the waste to the bottom until finally it penetrates the ground, contaminating it.
The underground waters are also affected by contamination. Leachate can be a major threat to the lands flora or in the other word, it can cause a long lasting land infertility.
We can conclude that leachate is the biggest problem on landfills.
Winds are also affecting the surrounding area of the landfill by spreading the bad smell of the rotten garbage from landfills which is not pleasant at all. That is air pollution right there. Just imagine living a few miles from it… ugh!
Not to mention drinking polluted water or eating contaminated food…
We need to work on alternative ways of taking care of waste that we produce, because one day, there won’t be any more room for landfills.
We won’t be able to dispose of all that garbage into the oceans, since we all know that oceans are full of life and are our second main source of food. Why would we knowingly pollute that too?!
We are living in the 21st century, where science and technology are at its peak! We should raise our consciousness level! How about we start using the knowledge we acquired throughout history to correct the mistakes of our ancestors. Instead of continuing to apply old methods, we can advance to the next level, turn to modern systems of garbage recycling and eventually, its disposal. We should look towards progressive solutions that encourage zero-to-landfill policies.
How about we refer to the greatest landfill solutions?
How about showing some respect to our planet Earth, a deep appreciation of the fact that the chief characteristic of life on our planet is the interdependence of all living and non-living things. To give when you take; to nourish and be nourished. It is the antithesis of the rapacious nature of the consumptive society, where humans exploit everything around them for endless sensory gratification.
Or what about waste reduction?
It is the most efficient and environmentally friendly way of saving our planet as well as our wallets. Spending on new things we don’t need is a waste of all the resources that went into producing, distributing, and selling them.
Then, there is always recycling, which is the next most important solution. The three types of waste are household, commercial, and industrial. All three include plastic, glass, paper, and aluminum cans, all of which can be recycled and reused
Conclusion
When considering landfills, the most important factor that needs to be discussed is trash itself.
We can reduce our consumption by purchasing those things that we really need, and weaning ourselves off those things that we don’t, saving money and our environment.
We can buy better quality products so the items will last longer. We can reuse what we have by selling or buying used items, buying from second-hand stores, yard sales, internet sales sites (e.g. Gumtree, E-bay, etc.).
We can avoid items with excessive packaging.
What we use in our households, commercial entities and even industries should be products that are safer and more biodegradable, so that waste ends up being less toxic and more biodegradable.
Have you ever heard about the golden rule?
The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!
If at all possible seek to purchase products that are not made from or packaged in plastic.
Use reusable shopping bags for groceries.
Bring your own mug for coffee and bring drinking water from home in glass water bottles instead of buying bottled water.
Store foods in the freezer in glass mason jars as opposed to plastic bags. Take your own leftovers container to restaurants.
Request no plastic wrap on your newspaper and dry cleaning. Avoid disposable utensils and buy foods in bulk when you can.
Recycle/Repurpose what you can:
Take care to recycle and repurpose products whenever possible, especially ones that are not available in anything other than plastic.
This includes giving your clothes or gently used household items to charities and frequenting second-hand stores instead of buying new.
Make use of online sites like Freecycle.org that allow you to give products you no longer need away to others instead of throwing them away.
Choose reusable over single-use/
This includes non-disposable razors, washable feminine hygiene products, cloth diapers, glass bottles for your milk, cloth grocery bags, handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues, an old t-shirt or rags in lieu of paper towels, and so on.
Support legislative efforts to manage waste in your community; take a leadership role with your company, school, and neighborhood!
But most of all, be a responsible citizen of the Earth!
We hope that this fact file has now improved your knowledge on landfills. We will be a little obvious in this conclusion, but landfills are bad! We should all reconsider other options and ways of garbage disposal and recycling. Actually, it is very simple. If we all gather ourselves together and start recycling instead of sending waste to landfills, the planet would be a lot cleaner and a healthier place to live.
Here are some bonus facts about landfills:
Wasted food in landfill mounts up to 20 million tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions.
One tonne of biodegradable waste produces between 200m3 and 400m3 of landfill gas (methane and carbon dioxide)
The highest point in Hamilton County, Ohio (near Cincinnati) is "Mount Rumpke." It is actually a mountain of trash at the Rumpke sanitary landfill towering 1045 ft. or 318 meters above sea level.
Sources:
Ministry of environmental protection of Serbia,
Gloucestershire Waste Partnership,
European Environment Agency,
University of Southern Indiana,
Kids Go Green,
Wikipedia