| Landfills have always been a staple in our society. | | | | to the community then trash removal costs will |
| They were the place we put the trash we did not | | | | increase. As communities become more populated it |
| want. They were the ugly underground of our | | | | is getting more difficult to find places to put landfills. |
| throw-away society. Is there still a place for them, | | | | Many communities are having to go to different |
| though? Are we slowly forgoing landfills in favor of | | | | states just to find a place for their landfill. The impact |
| recycling and simply throwing away less trash? Is | | | | of this is going to be a great increase in the cost of |
| there a future for landfills? | | | | trash removal. |
| The Description of a Landfill | | | | The Future |
| The facts and figures about landfills is rather shocking. | | | | The future of landfills is not as bleak as it may seem. |
| According to the U.S. Environmental Protection | | | | They standards of operation and the great |
| Agency in 2000, each person in the U.S. was | | | | improvements in landfill construction have made |
| responsible for 4.5 pounds of trash per day. The land | | | | landfills safer. Closed landfills are being recycled. The |
| required to handle this waste equaled one acre for | | | | land may be turned back into a community space or |
| 10,000 people. On that one acre the trash would | | | | even mined for valuable products. |
| need to be piled eight feet high. | | | | The understanding of landfills and how they work has |
| Landfills were originally created in the 1950s. They | | | | transformed them. There is no doubt that in the |
| replaced open dumps that had been used previously. | | | | future even more will be understood about them to |
| Landfills had containment systems that helped to | | | | make them even more valuable and much safer. The |
| isolate the garbage and minimalize the environmental | | | | key for the future is proper management, planning |
| impact and health risk. As trash breaks down, though, | | | | and guidance of landfills to ensure that they do not |
| there is a natural process that produces, what is | | | | pose a risk and that when closed, they are put back |
| called, landfill gases. The gases must be diffused or | | | | to good use. |
| otherwise extracted as they pose a health risk. | | | | The amount of waste in the United States has went |
| Landfill Location | | | | down. There are more opportunities for recycling, so |
| Finding a spot to put a landfill is not simple. There are | | | | waste gets reused instead of dumped in a landfill. |
| many restrictions and roadblocks. Landfills are a | | | | However, eliminating all waste is a very unlikely event. |
| community issue, so in many cases, people within the | | | | There will always be some type of solid waste and |
| community will put up a fight to prevent a landfill | | | | there will always be a need to have somewhere to |
| from coming to their area. An area chosen for landfills | | | | put it. Landfills are around for the long haul. They may |
| must pass screening to ensure it meets engineering | | | | change over time, but they are likely to always be |
| and geological specifications and regulations. | | | | around. |
| If a landfill is not located within a reasonable distance | | | | |