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Landfills in America receive between a few tons up to 6,000 tons of material every day, depending on the size of the community that deposits in them. There are over 3,000 active landfills today, and 10,000 old municipal landfills. The only thing keeping the various toxins from seeping into the water table is a thin plastic liner at the bottom of the landfill, that is about 1/10 of an inch thick. Rain falls on the landfill, and penetrates to the deepest areas, dissolving some materials, and assisting other present liquids to reach the liner. Over time, this liner will break down, allowing these liquids and water-soluable materials to pass through, and giving a wide variety of toxins, such as chemicals and heavy metals access to the local water system.
Another problem with landfills is that the assorted papers, cardboards, and natural material that would normally break down on its own, instead does not decompose as quickly as it would naturally, due to the lack of oxygen within the landfill. What little decomposition does occur creates a natural gas called methane, which has explosive properties if not properly ventilated. Most landfills vent this gas through pipes that go down deep into the landfill, and burn off the gas as it reaches the surface. Any gas that is not burnt, instead goes into the atmosphere, adding to global warming, since methane is many times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Instead of filling our landfills, harming our environment, and wasting our resources, we could be recycling a great deal of the material that ends up in landfills. Newspapers alone take up about 14% of landfill space, and paper decomposition is the prime contributer to the methane gas produced. Recycling centers are everywhere, and curbside pickup is available in many areas. As recycling becomes more popular, there are also more facilities that take in a wider variety of materials. It is now possible to recycle plastic grocery bags and styrofoam containers. With fewer materials going into landfills, their growth can be reduced, and the landfills can be monitored to contain the toxins that could harm the environment.




Jason Grace
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany

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