The Environmental Effects Of Landfills

However, the pipes below the lined bottom that are designed to catch leachate, which is the run off of water that passes through the waste and into the soil or underground water, doesn’t always catch all of the toxic substance. The toxins pollute lakes, streams and aquifers. The decomposition of waste also gives off methane and carbon dioxide gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect. If not properly vented, it could result in an explosion. Another disadvantage is that the landfill will stay the same size because of the improper mixture of elements for

In Mantua Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, privately owned land once stood as one of the most hazardous waste sites in the United States. This site known as the Helen Kramer Landfill included 66-acres of waste, 11 acres of unfavorably conditioned vegetation, and no onsite residents. Prior to the early 1960’s, Helen Keller landfill was a sand and gravel excavation operation, but soon began to incorporate the disposal of waste material for about a decade. After the landfill received numerous inspections and notices between 1971 and 1977, the owner Helen Kramer was informed to cease operation of the landfill. As New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reports indicated and area residents stated, “sporadic chemical

Emelle, Alabama not only holds one of the biggest commercial hazardous-waste landfill in America, but African-Americans make up 90% of the population of the town. A Choctaw Native American reservation in Philadelphia, Mississippi holds a 466-acre hazardous landfill (Wright 532). These statistics have revealed the sensitive boundary between racial and social classes. Specific human factors have driven the need for change in environmental practices, such as growing human population, increased natural resource consumption, and the effluent discharges of manufacturing. This situation has resulted in a significant negative impact on world ecosystems (Dietz, Ostrom, and Stern 1907). What ties both of these critical concerns

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

Scientifically and economically, we know the garbage we produce can be used to improve our nation, but we choose to slack off and not take advantage of the waste that is claimed by landfills. Consequently. citizens think that leaving their so

Anywhere you look around the United States landfills can be found. If you are lucky enough to pass by one, the site is probably seen reaching capacity. Sometimes you might not even see them before your nose catches the putrid scent. These landfill sites sure are not popular but they are very much a necessity to our lives. Imagine what we would do with all the trash if we did not have somewhere to go with it? Unfortunately, landfill sites do have negative side effects on the environment. Three of the top concerns related to landfills are toxins released in the air coming from items such as electronic waste, liquid trash contaminating the land and waterways, and greenhouse gas emissions like methane. With the world on watch with heightened awareness

The United Sates and Canada are some of the top natural resources spots. When they are mined the materials they use heavy machinery which could pollute the land, air, and water around it and leaves rock and other natural material just sitting on the top of the landfills. These landfills should be used as something elsa when they have been mined up with so it is not just left empty.

Historically, the state of garbage in California has not been that pleasing. Most of the landfills in the State are currently overused as some continues to get worse with time. This probably is the case because by the year 2013, only 36.6% of the entire waste products in United States were actually recycled. Moreover, according to the findings presented from CalRecycle study, the existing organic wastes constitute 32.4% of all the waste product. Sadly, these organic wastes pose a significant threat to the surrounding environment (Donovan). The common practice of burying solid wastes in a landfill is confirm dangerous to the environment because of the chemicals that later build up beneath the earth surface hence producing Leachate, a poisonous

Most people don’t realize that piles of trash aren’t the thing wrong with landfills. There are many other issues with it too. Toxins, leachate and greenhouse gases are three components from landfills that can harm the environment. Many of the materials that end up in landfills contain toxic substances. Over the years, these toxins seep into the soil and groundwater, becoming environmental hazards for years. Electronic waste such as televisions and computers contain a lot of hazardous substances that include mercury, acids and lead.

Landfills have many drawbacks to them. Landfills are not the best way to get rid of the waste that the world puts out. Three major harms of landfills are: they can harm the environment and living organisms around that specific, landfills take up space that people could use to make businesses, homes or parks for the kids in the neighborhood, and people throw things away that can easily be recycled.

Landfills not only contaminate Earth’s soil and groundwater, but also produce a greenhouse gas known as, methane. In order to reduce the amount of methane being produced at landfills, humans should compost yard waste and recycle as much as possible (GAIA). Methane stands 25 to 72 times stronger than carbon dioxide and can be the foundation to health effects such as cancer and asthma. Landfills not only pollute the air we breathe, but are a significant source of global climate change. According to the Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance, for every ton of waste, more than 70 tons of manufacturing, oil explorations, and coal combustion form (GAIA). In 2012, Derek Thompson, stated the world would produce 2.6 trillion pounds of garbage just for that particular year. Thompson appraised that amount to the equivalent weight of 7,000 Empire State Buildings (Derek Thompson 2012). Out of the 2.6 trillion pounds of garbage, 46 percent is organic, 4 percent metal, 5 percent glass, 10 percent plastic, 17 percent paper, and 18 percent is other (Derek Thompson 2012). Nevertheless, all of these end up in the many landfills throughout the world, where they sit and decompose into Earth’s soil and produce the greenhouse gas, methane, and pollute our water and cause health

It was also needed for separation of waste from society realm to cut down on the public health risks or issues. The differences between sanitary landfills and dumps are fairly simple. Sanitary landfills rehabilitate land where garbage and trash have been buried by covering up waste and planting some type of foliage. Also, landfills are covered by dirt and have a bottom liner to protect ground water. Sanitary Landfills are also regulated by the U. S. government while dumps are not. The composition of a landfill can be described in for elements such as: on the bottom there are some type of liner which are made-up of plastic, clay or composite. Next, is a leachate collection system, this is used to collect the liquid that comes from decomposing materials in the system. The third part is a type of covering such as another liner to prevent rain from intruding and last is the natural hydro geologic setting. This type of prevention is useful for two reasons which are to prevent waste from escaping and is used to predict where the waste will go if it

Other chemicals and gases include sulfur dioxide (a type of gas that can lead to acid rain), nitrogen oxide (causes smog and acid rain), carbon dioxide (which is currently one of the greatest factors of global warming), small particles (the particles can lead to health hazards and can increase the chance of lung cancer), hydrocarbons (causes smog), ash and sludge ( the ash and sludge consist of many pollutants and hold toxic metals within them like lead and mercury), and many other toxic metals (Casper 6-7).