Environmental Issues Caused By Landfills Essay

In 1969 it was discovered that the site was leaching due to a lack of a bottom liner. The landfill was leaching volatile organic compounds (VOC), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and explosive landfill gases (LFG).

Assessments began to take place in the mid 1980’s, shortly after the site made the National Priorities list in 1983. Relevant standards and guidance levels were used to measure the effect of the Helen Kramer Landfill. The initiation of the EPA’s remedial investigation and feasibility study deemed the nature of the Helen Kramer landfill as an extreme risk to the environment, characterizing the site “by randomly placed, uncompacted, and uncovered refuse, with numerous settlement cracks which vented methane and water vapor” (2). According to the EPA, several million gallons of chemical wastes and over two million cubic yards of solid waste were estimated to have been disposed of at the landfill (2). Studies were performed by the EPA, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, federal natural resource trustees in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to evaluate the onsite and nearby environmental effects due to the landfill. During these studies, contaminants were detected in air, sediments, and aquifers, including high levels of volatile organic compounds and heavy metals in the air and sediments. VOCS and heavy metals expose humans to carcinogens, developmental toxicants, and reproductive toxicants. The assessments also detected numerous contaminants such as (but not limited to),

The next Superfund that has greatly influenced the environment of Butler County is the Skinner Landfill. The Landfill is on 85 acres in West Chester (2). The facility was privately owned and was never actually licensed, so it closed in the 1970's (5). The landfill contains about 100 drums of chlorinated organics, and heavy metals. Along with the presence of the drums is the fact that a nearby lagoon was once used as a disposal for these contaminants, and that the site had problems with unauthorized dumping (5). Fortunately, no contaminants have been discovered leaving the site (5). The presence of these

Alex Lin and many other teen activists trying to stop toxins from getting into the ground. These toxins can get into natural resources and water systems. Computer chemicals such as lead, mercury, and caldeum are to the human body. When computers are recycled and softly disarranged and recycle, but when they're thrown out they are gathered and put in landfills and dangerously seep into the ground. There is so much electronic waste they have to be cared with bulldozers and many other heavy machinery. This machinery is very expensive. People that throughout computers can just put it the blue bin instead of the green. Also these landfills are ugly sites. Landfills are in places like the outskirts of cities. They create ugly toxic hills that will be placed in the poorer parts of the city (outskirts). Theas landfills have tubes in the ground so the toxins can be released so the ground does not blow up. These toxins are released into the ground and the air for people to breathe. Finally, when People hat breathe this air can become very

In addition, there exist some environmental risks related to producing landfill. Even though the Australian Federal Government is not offering incentives to repurpose waste, some communities and State and Local governments are offering incentives for this practice. The main purpose of this is to avoid the disposing of waste in landfills, due to the fact that it requires so much time, energy and space, injuring our planet's health (McCabe,

Fresh Kills Landfill, the largest landfill in the world (former), is located in Staten Island, New York. It is a total of 2200 acres where it opened in 1948 and lasted until March of 2001. The initial goal of the landfill was to remain open for five years, yet it was open longer, if not for a few decades. This landfill was one of the dominant landfills for storing garbage collected around New York City.

Currently, landfills are responsible for 15 million tonnes of C02 in our atmosphere each year. When garbage decomposes, it creates methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This contributes to greenhouse gasses and damages the ozone layer. Landfills take up space, as well as being dangerous and toxic. Rubbish that ends up in our oceans can cause harm to our marine life and poison our water.

Have you ever wondered where all the trash goes that you throw out? Most of it ends up in landfills, gets burned or ends up on the street. Landfills are the most cost-efficient ways to get rid of trash for places like the United States but at what price. When waste disintegrates in landfills and water passes through the waste, the resulting liquid is called leachate. When leachate run off encounter local rivers and lakes it can contaminate the water and destroy whole eco systems that live in these areas. Landfill gas consists of naturally occurring methane and carbon dioxide, which form inside the landfill as the waste decomposes. As the gases form, pressure builds up inside a landfill, forcing the gases to move. Some of the gases escape through

When big name brand CSR got involved in waste management and planned to develop a dump site in Werribee they underestimated the backlash that would come, in the process of trying to control the fire they made several PR fiascos. One of the mistakes CSR made when they unveiled the landfill proposal was attempting to disguise the risk factors in hopes that it would create passivity within the community. In their proposal, they summarised that the landfill would be protected by a double clay liner and a leachate collection system, would be state of the art and most importantly would be monitored and regulated by the EPA. In response to this members of the Werribee community highlighted the dangers the landfill would create, these risks included fires, spillages and dust storms that could cross contaminate crops. As a large farming community the crops were an essential source of revenue for the local economy, it would also put the tourism industry under threat. The landfill presented economic, environmental and social risk factors and CSR failed to take the community 's concerns seriously (van Moorst 2001).

The United States produces roughly 250 million tons of solid waste, or garbage, on an annual basis. This number equates to 4.4 pounds of solid waste created by every American on a daily basis (Miller, Meindl, & Caradine, 2016). The recycling rate in the U.S. is around 35%, meaning over 165 million tons of waste is placed in the nation’s landfills or incinerated each year (Mozo-Reyes, Jambeck, Reeves, & Johnsen, 2015). Landfilling recyclables contributes to a greater strain on global resources because materials that may have been reused must now be replaced (Miller, et.al. 2016). Landfilling waste also contributes to air pollution through the release of methane (Delkash, Zhou, and Singh, 2016) and poses threats to groundwater near landfills (Talalaj & Biedka, 2016). As the population of the nation (and the world) increases, strategies must be found to reuse resources rather than simply disposing of them.

Furthermore, please keep in mind all the benefits that the inert landfill has been able to provide Tinytown over the years. Benefits such as, keeping sales and property taxes very low compared to surrounding areas, and a revenue source because several surrounding communities pay the Tinytown to use its landfill.

Within the next five years, the city will be forced to expand the current landfills. The main need for this is a constant output of municipal solid waste. With a sluggish participation rate of only 35% the need to expand that finite space will be inevitable. On the surface this seems like an easy choice, but there has to be

In 2016, Americans elected a new President, Donald Trump. During his campaign, candidate Trump made several promises about the EPA. One of Donald Trump’s campaign promises that I read on www.washingtonpost.com, “the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) might disappear,” reminded me of the “Love Canal” scandal. As a student of biology and geology and a future scientist, the idea that government agencies would no longer assist with the protection of the environment, which includes politicians, was astonishing. According to an Executive Order signed by President Trump and posted on www.epa.gov, the “2015 Clean Water Rule” that protected streams and oceans from environment pollutants was rescinded (2017). The reason the quote by candidate Trump and the executive order by President Trump has any relevance is because these same actions could impact pre-1991 landfills. Landfills built before the 1991 regulations were not required to install barriers that protect the groundwater from carcinogens. There are chemicals that the EPA has determined to cause cancers and presently exist in landfills. Landfills built before 1991 are not required to protect any humans, wildlife or plants, or water from toxins and the new EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt could decide the current regulations are too

The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation established the Brookhaven landfill in March 1974. Since then, residents have revealed many health concerns and other relative issues against the placement of the landfill. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has been addressed in regards to a necessary public health consultation to draw attention to these concerns. After further cooperative agreements amongst the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) and ATSDR, a public health consultation was reached. Many solutions have been uncovered; however, the outcome has yet to be determined as it is evident that a reasonable response must be initiated through the cooperation of the government and community.

There are some reasons for the problem. The first reason is that the effects of the thrown rubbish are very dangerous and extremely harmful. According to Miller (1987), global industrial organizations produce over 80,000 different chemicals (para. 5). Basically, garbage is old, dirty and wet, so that it is a perfect place for bacteria and other viruses to stay in. Rubbish growth in cities has been a problem all over the world for centuries. Landfills have always been regarded as sources of illnesses and unpleasant smells. The harmful wastes from the garbage spread through the ground from paint, chemicals, petrol, batteries, and other toxic materials that have been thrown away into the garbage. The toxic chemicals get into the water pipes and spread through the people’s drinking water. Another reason of that problem is that people have created all these disasters, which are connected with environmental pollution. The more modern technologies are created, the more unbelievable become wastes and remains of what is produced. From this, man is responsible for what he or she created and for the following consequences. Anxieties about the environment have made people more aware of their environmental footprints or the kind of waste they leave behind during their existence. The difficulty is that an average person leaves an incredible amount of wastes in his or her lifetime. According to Lovejoy (1912), all biodegradable substances, contained in