Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Part I - Landfills
D18
Explain the short- and long-term
impacts of landfills and incineration of
waste materials on the quality of the
environment.
There
There areare
3,091
3,091 active
active
sanitary
sanitary
landfills
landfills in
in the
the
U.S.
U.S. and
and over
over
10,000
10,000 old old
municipal
municipal
landfills
landfills
(rubbish
(rubbish pits).
pits).
The Throwaway Age
According to social critic Vance
Packard, we are living in the
Throwaway Age, the name given to
an era where every person in an
industrialized nation produces about
four pounds of waste each day
Freudenrich, Craig C., Ph.D. How Landfills Work. 2003. http://people.howstuffworks.com/landfill.htm.
Vocabulary
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW):
trash (or garbage) generated by
people and industry.
Landfill: a site for the disposal of
waste materials by burial.
Transfer station: a place where
municipal solid waste is collected prior
to the waste going to the landfill.
Per capita: per person.
Vocabulary
The state-of-the-art
The state-of-the-art system,
system,
constructed at
constructed at the
the bottom
bottom of
of the
the landfill,
landfill,
has aa special
has special double-liner
double-liner to
to prevent
prevent
leachate leakage.
leachate leakage. The
The contained
contained
leachate is
leachate is run
run through
through pipes
pipes to
to above-
above-
ground storage
ground storage tanks
tanks and
and hauled
hauled for for
treatment and
treatment and disposal
disposal at
at aa large
large
regional wastewater
regional wastewater treatment
treatment plant.
plant.
Even though there are 2 liners that overlap
to keep leachate from leaking out there is
always that slim chance. So to help protect
the public, landfills are also designed with:
Hartford Landfill
So...landfill
So...landfill garbage
garbage degrades,
degrades,
right?
right
right?
right
Not really. Landfills are mostly
anaerobic. Without the oxygen and
water needed to break down organic
materials, all garbage decays very
slowly in a landfill. This means our
garbage will probably be around for
a very long time.
40 Yr-old Newspaper found in Landfill
Even food does NOT degrade
Amount of Trash Thrown in
Landfills (by weight)
weight
Plastics
Plastics
Plastics can take between 200-400 years to degrade.
Only 3% of it is currently recycled.
Yard
Yard Waste
Waste
Green Waste (leaves, twigs, Christmas trees)
can be shredded and used as mulch or composted.
Paper
Paper &&
Cardboard
Cardboard
Nationwide, paper & cardboard account for 41 % of
all municipal solid waste. Only about 34.5 % is
recycled in the U.S.
Metal
Metal
Recycling aluminum reduces both air and water
pollution by more than 95% due to less energy needed
to mine & process it. Only 38% of cans are recycled.
Glass
Glass
Glass was one of the first to be recycled and continues
to lead all others in % recycled. It is the easiest
recycled material to use and is the most cost efficient.
Food
Food Waste
Waste
15.8 million tons of food goes to waste in the U.S.
every year. Vegetable & plant matter can be
composted (NOT meat or fats) and used for mulch.
What short-term problems are
caused by landfills?
Trucks used to collect and move
trash both locally and at the landfill
are noisy.
Landfills are unsightly.
Water Problems
Soil Problems
Environmental Problems
Water Problems
Leachate Problems
Issues Concerning Water Flow
Through a Landfill
When water (moisture)
flows through a landfill, it
picks up toxic substances
found in waste, creating
leachate.
Possible
increase in Mercury
concentrations in the soil.
Common sources of mercury in landfills
include electrical switches, fluorescent light
bulbs
Environmental Problems
Environmental Problems
Landfills
create air pollution
(methane, mercury etc)