No room for more landfills? And that is the only problem?

Question

What is the problem with landfills right now? I know that we create a bunch of junk that is unnecessary and stuff it in a lined hole in the ground even though some of it could be recycled or could have been composted...

But what about landfills? They are sealed up good, aren't they? So they can't leak?? And they are covered over and turned into golf courses or parks and deemed safe.... This certainly can't go on until the 'end of time' but are there a lot of dangers with them?

links to your sources if you have them/ please and thank you!

Answer 1

clay lining often works fairly well. That is, provided there is not significant subsidence or underground erosion removing support for the clay.

Because water entering the top is also being trapped on top of the clay liner it is under pressure, so it has to be supported on the outside, or it will burst. This means that suddenly large amount of water with a lot of pollutants can be discharged into the aquifers, or small holes can leak small amounts over a long time.  Our reasoning when we put those clay liners in place was that we would likely have stuff in there that should not reach the aquifers.

When enough rain has fallen, it is predictable that the water will be draining out the top of the clay bowl. This is why we cap the top of the dumpsite with clay too, to divert rain from entering the bowl.

The clayh covering has its own problem. it forces all decomposition to be anaerobic so we get a buildup of methane.  Over a period of a few years London Ontario had 4 houses blown up when methane from an old capped landfill seeped into their basement and ignited. These houses were not built on the landfil, but half a block away.

Methane, when it does not blow houses up, is a potent Greenhouse gas. It is urgent that no biodegradable products be put in landfill.

Most of our landfills get little really toxic stuff, legally. So, we are mostly at risk when  industrial toxic waste is illegally dumped there.

Fires in landfill can be extremely difficult to put out. Yes, incineration is bad, but a smoldering landfill site... very bad environment.

Answer 2

Yes their are lots of dangers with them. Some of the dangers are hazardous chemicals, toxic waste, and certain pieces of garbage that won't "break down" and could cause serious problems.

Answer 3

I'm an environmental manager, and I work with landfills.  Yes, in theory they are sealed up - at least the Muncipal Solid Waste (MSW - household trash, etc) landfills are.  Especially with new MSW landfills, they now mostly use composite liners made up of plastic (geomembrane or gcl) and clay soil. Yet, there are sometimes leaks, which is why they have to have groundwater monitering to make sure the leaks are being contained and are not getting into the groundwater.  

A Construction and Demolition (C & D) Landfill, however, does not have to be lined, at least in a lot of states.  Although, In some states they do require groundwater monitering.  Yet the debris in these landfills are usually not a concern for leaching into the groundwater.  However, like the other poster said, a some problems come from waste that is illegally disposed in these landfills - for C & D, it's MSW, for MSW, it's hazardous and/or toxic waste.  The landfill operators, state inspectors, and others monitor the landfills to make sure they are putting the correct waste in the landfill.  However, sometimes things do get put in there illegally which then corrective action is taken.

Land Clearing Debris (LCD) Landfills only contain Land Clearing Debris such as leaves, trees, branches, stumps etc.  - stuff that a lot of the time can be composted or chipped.  This type of waste does not pose a threat to the environment as far as getting into the groundwater, etc. (only if other types of waste are illegally brought there).  



At the end of the landfills' life and after thirty years of post-closure care, yes some of them do become parks and golf courses.  A lot of them just become green spaces.  However, because they are landfills, they have limited uses.  You cannot build on them because they are structurally unsound as well as with MSW you have methane problems like the previous poster mentioned.  You can't plant trees on an MSW (or any landfill that has a liner) because the roots will compromise the liner and then leaks can seep out.  Any trees that start to grow have to be cut down for that reason on a lined landfill.  

Other then when the landfills have compliance problems, such as leachate (water mixed with waste) seeps or putting in illegal waste, the two main problems with landfills are that, yes, we will run out of space, and creating a landfill ruins a habitat.  New Landfills are usually put in rural areas (since people don't want them near their house), a lot of trees are cut down, and whatever animals that lived there previously, there habitat is gone.  Yes, we will run out of space.  A lot of places up north are already running out of space and sending their waste to the south. I know because I have visited a large MSW landfill where 95% waste is brought in from the North to the South.  

The sad part is probably 90% of what goes into landfills could be recycled or composted someway, somehow, *if* more people started buying recycled products, and if people separated waste that could be recycled out before it got to the trash can.  More landfills are have recycling facilities and recycling drop off places on site now then previously, but *a lot* of things that could be recycled *if* they were sorted out before we, the consumer, put them in our trash cans.  Once they are put in the trash can, more than likely, they are not sorted and recycled.  Most of the time because this takes a lot more manpower than companies want to expend and because then this trash gets mixed in with food, drink, and other waste that make it un-recyclable.