Environmental Problems: Landfills

While there are many types of environmental problems, landfills are one of the most difficult to fix. Landfills are unpopular; no one wants to have them near them. At the same time, the amount of garbage produced by the average American home continues to grow. The State of Washington's Department of Ecology notes that in 2005, the average household contributed as much as 7.9 pounds of waste per person per day. Amounts aside, there are other, more tragic concerns with landfills.

Slideshow:Environmental Issues

The environmental problems caused by landfills are numerous. Landfills produce emissions, substances, which are often toxic, that enter the air or water. They may contribute to the depletion of the Ozone layer. They can harm wildlife. There are two areas of emissions considered the largest concerns: atmosphere emissions and water emissions.

Emissions from landfills enter the atmosphere. When they do, they can travel anywhere. Main problems here include noise emissions, dust emissions and bio-aerosol emissions. These are often a cause of the operation of the landfill, but still contribute to the larger environmental problem.

In addition to these, one of the largest concerns is the production of landfill gas. Over time, the garbage in a landfill breaks down. It creates a chemical mess, filled with toxins entering the atmosphere as gases. Landfill gas occurs virtually as soon as a landfill comes about and may continue to be in production for hundreds of years.

The atmosphere often takes a hit when it comes to landfill gases, but water is also a very real risk. The initial problem is with watercourses. This includes everything from the ditches located near the landfill to the rivers and streams miles away. The rain will wash over the landfill, allowing debris, but more commonly toxins, to wash into these watercourses.

In addition, water emissions may happen at a much lower level. If groundwater is polluted at a landfill site, the water can penetrate into the strata below the surface of the Earth, polluting some of the most important sources of fresh water.

Emissions are not the only types of problems associated with landfills. A closer look can show why so many much needed changes are so difficult to come by.

• Landfill Fires: Landfill gasses, and the shear amount of landfill waste, can easily ignite a fire. Fires can be difficult to put out and contribute to the pollution of the air and water. They can also potentially destroy habitats nearby if not controlled soon enough.

• Decomposition: Some landfills get filled and then covered over to allow decomposition to take place. Yet, it is not always accurate how long it will take some items to decompose. Products that are natural, such as wasted fruits and vegetables, will decompose within weeks while items like baby diapers, soda cans and glass bottles may take as long as 500 years to decompose.

• Landfill Leakage: The design of many of the newest landfills keeps many of these leakage problems at bay, but there are still risks. Landfill gases and waste materials may leak from the landfill. This can lead to environmental problems including toxic exposure to water.

Keeping in mind these environmental problems, landfills are often a topic people do not like to talk. There is work underway by many local and state governments to improve landfills to keep them from polluting the environment. One of the main ways landfills are under redesign is to allow the process of pulling out recyclable material to be easier to do. Some cities allow for separate recyclable collection, for example. The use of equipment like an air burner curtain can trap more particles to keep them from escaping into the environment.

One of the most important ways to improve the landfills is to reduce the amount of garbage produced by the average American home.

Visit the EPA website to learn about ways to reduce the amount of garbage your home produces.

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