The world is running our of landfills for waste disposal.?

Question

The world is running our of landfills for waste disposal.?

Answer 1

yes, so much more for the tragedy. It is high time that mankind learns to use resources more efficiently so that there is less to waste. and treat waste such that it ceases to be waste.

Answer 2

lol wow how did you come up with that question. i wonder, what if all disposal was vaporized and exhaust into outer space

Answer 3

This is what we'll get if we keep on depending on landfills with the fact that that we always throw rubbish away without worrying.  

Its not the size of a landfill that matters, its the amount of the waste going to that landfill. We always hear that landfills should always be the last resort for waste, but we know, that's not the case happening now, rite?

Answer 4

I beg to differ.  

Certainly, there are places with little or no landfill capacity (for example, Hong Kong, New York); but on a global scale, there is a vast capacity for landfill; especially if used sensibly and with appropriate materials recovery facilities.  In the right circumstances, landfill used as a restoration process can be used sucessfully in restoring old quarries, etc.  

The old landfill strategy of filling with unsegregated materials and without recovery led to accumulation of pollutants and is certainly now outdated.  Even the most basic landfill nowadays incorporates gas recovery, to dispose of the methane generated by waste decomposition for energy recovery (and removal of a hazardous greenhouse gas); but the 'bioreactor' type of landfill itself is now outmoded; and it is better to recover the organic content before landfilling.  The inert components are ideal for land restoration for passive uses.

The current idea that landfill is unqualifiedly 'bad' and should be banned is the result of closed-minded thinking; as waste should be considered a resource (admittedly, a low-valued resource).  I can see the day when the older landfills are re-worked to recover useful materials.

I am not saying that landfill is not without its hazards, or that we shouldn't give first priority to waste avoidance strategies; but given that there is a waste stream, total avoidance of landfilling can be more environmentally negative than incorporating sensible landfilling in a waste strategy.

Can't telI I worked in waste management strategy and waste policy for some years, can you?