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EddieAbellana
ProfessorLudwig
English101
15May2016
TheLandfillProblem
Fordecades,landfillshavecontinuedtobeanissuefortheworld.Alandfillisdefinedas
asystemofgarbageandtrashdisposalinwhichwasteisburiedbetweenlayersofearth
(Landfill).Peoplehavetheunderstandingthatgarbageandtrasharethesamething.Tosome
disbelief,garbageandtrashhavedifferentmeaningsbuttheybothendupinlandfills.Garbage
consistsoforganicmaterialslikefoodthatcannotbereusedbyotherpeople,whiletrashis
inorganicmaterialsthatcanbereusedbypeopleorarejustunwanteditemsthatarethrown
away.Thecombinationofthetworesultsinthelandfillsthatweknowoftoday.Unfortunately,
landfillshavebeenincreasinginsizeforthepastyears.Duetothis,therehavebeenan
abundanceofnegativefactorsaffectingtheearthsecosystemandatmosphere.Theamountof
greenhousegases,toxicwaste,andwaterpollutionproducedfromlandfillscreatemultiple
problemsfortheearthtohelpoutwiththisproblem,peopleshouldrecyclemoreoften,use
reusablebagswhentheyareshopping,andconvertlandfillsintoenergy.
Peoplehavecometoanassumptionthatmostofthegreenhousegasesthatarechanging
theclimatecomefromfossilfuels.Thoughtheyarenotwrong,therearemanyfactorsthat
contributetotheproductionofgreenhousegases.Landfills,beingoneofthesefactors,createa
largeamountofmethanegas.AnarticlecalledLandfillGasBasicsexplainsthatlandfillgas
containsabout45to60percentmethaneandthatlandfillsarethebiggestsourceofamanmade


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methaneproducedemissions.Methanegasasdefinedisacolorlessgasthathasnosmelland
thatcanbeburnedforfuel(methane).Themethanegasisakeycomponentforthecreation
ofgreenhousegases.AccordingtotheEPA(EnvironmentalProtectionAgency),methanegasis
Poundforpound,thecomparativeimpactofCH4onclimatechangeismorethan25times
greaterthanCO2overa100yearperiod(OverviewofGreenhouseGases).TheEPA
continuestostatethatlandfillsarethethirdlargestsourceofCH4emissionsintheUnited
States.Withmethanebeingthemostprominentgasthatisproducedfromlandfills,thereis
hopetocontrolmethaneemissions.Theconversionoflandfillgasestoelectricityisoneofthe
mostcommonwaystomitigatetheemissionsoflandfillgas.With636projectslistedinthe
chapterWhatisLFG?,100billioncubicfeetofLFGareconvertedto16billion
kilowatthours.TherearesomedirectuseswiththeconversionofLFGsuchasleachate
evaporationwhichcanhelpreducethecostofleachatetreatment(WhatisLFG?,).Thisisa
primeexampleoftheactionsbeingtakentodecreasetheamountoflandfillgasesthatcurrently
surroundtheearthsatmosphere.However,thisiswilltaketimetoprocess.Forthisproblemto
besolved,thecreationofnewlandfillsshouldbestoppedandtheremaininglandfillsshouldbe
convertedintoenergyproducingfacilitiesthatsupporttheirclosesttownsorcities.Greenhouse
gasescontinuetobeaproblemthatwilltakemanyyearstoresolve.
Thereareindividualsthathavethebeliefthatalllandfillsaremadeupofgarbageand
trash.Theyarewrong,asthereisanothertypeoflandfill.Eachlandfillisdifferentiatedbased
specificallyonsolidwasteortoxicchemicals.Themanytypesoftoxicchemicalsareconsidered
tobehazardouswaste.Asdefined,hazardouswasteisAusedordiscardedmaterialthatcan
damagetheenvironmentandbeharmfultohealth.Hazardouswastesincludeheavymetalsand


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toxicchemicalsusedinindustrialproductsandprocessesaswellasinfectiousmedicalwastes
andradioactivematerialssuchasspentnuclearfuelrods(hazardouswaste).Batteries,oil,
paint,andhouseholdcleaningsuppliesarejustsomeitemsthatfallintothiscategory.A
hazardouswastelandfillisseparatedintothreefacilitiesthathandletoxicchemicals.Thefirstis
treatment,whichusesdifferenttechniques,handlesthechemicalcompositionoftoxicwaste.
Secondisstorage.Thisiswherehazardouswasteishelduntilitisputintothetreatmentfacility.
Lastisthedisposalfacilitywherehazardouswasteisdisposedofproperlytoprotectthe
environment.Havingthesethreefacilitiesisagoodwaytoregulatethehandlingandcarefor
hazardouswaste.Eventhoughtherearewaystohandletoxicchemicalscarefully,thepublicis
notnotifiedenoughtoknowwhatchemicalsarebeingstoredandtreatedontheselandfills.
Additionally,thereisnotenoughinformationtoknowiftheenvironmentisactuallybeing
protectedbytherulesandregulationsthatgowiththesehazardouswastelandfills.Manyarenot
educatedinproperdisposaloftoxicchemicalsandhazardouswastecontinuestobeamajor
factorinlandfills.
Waterpollutionknownasleachateisproducedbylandfills.Peoplemightask,Whatis
leachateandhowbigofaproblemisit?Ithappenswhenasolutionresultingfrom
leaching
,
asofsolubleconstituentsfromsoil,landfill,etc.,bydownwardpercolatinggroundwater
(leachate).Landfillleachateposesathreattosurroundingaquaticecosystemsandalsothe
healthofhumanbeings.AstudydonebyNagrajanetal.explainsthatleachateproducedfrom
landfillshavegreaterpossibilityofgroundwatercontaminationbecauseofthepotential
pollutionsourceofleachate...Suchcontaminationofgroundwaterresultsinasubstantialrisk
tolocalgroundwaterresourceuserandtothenaturalenvironment.Datagatheredfromlandfills


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byKumaretal.showsthedifferenttypesofchemicalsproducedbyleachate.Theirlistof
chemicalsthatarefoundinleachateincludesammonianitrogen,iron,copper,nickel,lead,and
arsenicjusttolistafew.Nagrajanetal.concludethattheirstudyshowed,moderatelyhigh
concentrationsofEC,TDS,Cl,SO42,NO3,Na+andFeetc.ingroundwaterwerefoundnear
landfillwhichdeterioratesitsqualityfordrinkingandotherdomesticpurposes.Thesestudies
arejustsomethatprovethatleachateproducedfromlandfillsneedtobetreatedbettertoprovide
forthesafetyoftheenvironmentaswellashumanlives.Successfultreatmentofleachate,as
foundonanarticlefromSaraArabiandAndrewLugowski,suggeststhatonsitetreatmentof
leachateisbetterthanpumpingitofftoadifferentfacility.ArabiandLugowskiwrote:

Onsiteleachatetreatmentsystems...reducethecostandenvironmentalriskof
haulingleachatetooffsitetreatmentfacilities...Theadvantagesofsuch
processesincludestablenitrification,higherdegreeoftotalnitrogenremoval,
reductionofoxygendemandandlowersludgeproductionrate.

Leachateiscausedbymothernatureitself.
Rainfallingonthetopofthelandfillisthemain
contributortothegenerationofleachate.Awaytocounteractleachateisbyphysicallycovering
landfillstopreventrainwatertoflowthroughlandfills.Realistically,governmentsalloverthe
worldwouldnotpourmoneyintosomethingthatissupposedtostopmothernature.
Thewaystoreducesuchproblemsstartwithusasindividuals.Recyclingisthemost
simplest,yetthemostforgottensolution.Households,apartmentcomplexes,andafew
establishments,containrecyclingbins/programsasawaytogogreen.Unfortunately,not


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everyonerecyclesforthelackofeithercareoravailablebins.AnEPAstatisticreadingin2011,
explainshow

lessthan35%ofhouseholdsandlessthan10%ofbusinessesintheU.S.recycle.
(RecyclingFacts,).ItcontinuesontosaythatiftheUSrecyclinglevelscanreach75%itwill
betheenvironmentalbenefitofremoving50millioncarsfromtheroadeachyearanditwill
generate1.5millionnewjobs.

Anotherwaybyreducinglandfillsistheusageofreusablebags.
Insteadofusingpaperorplasticbagswhenshoppingforclothes,groceries,cleaningsupplies,
etc.,reusablebagsareanecofriendlyalternative.Wheneveranyshoppingisdone,wereceive
plasticbagsandpaperbagswithourgoods.Themajorityofthetime,thebagsarenotrepurposed
andarethrownawayinthegarbage.Thesebagsaremadeinfactoriesthatincreaseairpollution.
Manmadematerialsuseallnaturalproductsthatendupinlandfills.Plasticandpaperbag
productioncontributetocuttingdownacresoftreesorutilizingoils,naturalgasesandother
plantssuchascornandsugarcanes.Usingreusablebagscanhelpreducetheproductionofboth
typesofbagsandslowlyreduceasmallbitofwastethatgoesintolandfillseveryday.Though
thesearesmallstepsthatanyonecando,thelackofknowledgeandthelackofwillingnessto
makethechangeforthebetteristhedownfall.
Toprovidebetterlivingconditionsforindividualsandtheenvironment,landfillsites
mustdecreasetheemissionsoflandfillgasestotheatmosphere.Therearealreadywaysthat
landfillgaseshavebeenconvertedtoenergytoprovideapowersourcetonearbycompanies,
citiesortowns.Sadly,therearenotenoughlandfillsitesthathavegonethroughthesemethodsof
conversion.Hazardouswastelandfillsthatcontaintoxicchemicalsneedtoberegulatedmoreto
offerbetterprotectionfortheecosystemsthatarenearby.Ifthesehazardouslandfillsarenot
regulated,plants,animalsandhumanswillbeaffectedwithitsnegativeimpacts.Withlandfills


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increasinginsize,asurplusofleachateisinevitable.Thegroundwaterandwildlifeareaffected
bythemetalsandtoxicchemicalsthatarecollectedfromleachate.Problemssuchasthesewill
likelynotgoaway,butthereareafewsolutionstoreducetheireffectsonthelivesofpeopleand
theenvironment.Makesuretoreducetheamountofmaterialsbeingboughtannually,use
reusablebagsinsteadofusingplastic,andstayinformedonwhatishappeningwiththelocal
wastemanagement,andmoreimportantly,recycle.Keepingthesesolutionsinmind,weare
destinedtodecreaselandfillsize,andwewillmakeahealthierearth.


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Kumar,Dinesh,andBabuJ.Alappat."EvaluatingLeachateContaminationPotentialofLandfill
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"Methane."
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"U.S.GreenhouseGasInventoryReport:19902014."
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