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How Landfills affect US

How Landfills affect US. by hailey marr. What is a landfill?. A landfill is an engineered depression in the ground used to store wastes.

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How Landfills affect US

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  1. HowLandfillsaffect US by hailey marr

  2. What is a landfill? A landfill is an engineered depression in the ground used to store wastes. Like a bathtub in the ground, it has a lining along the bottom to prevent leakage (liners can be clay, puncture-resistant synthetic plastic, or a combination of the two) A sanitary landfill - landfill that uses a clay liner to isolate the trash from the environment A municipal solid waste landfill uses a synthetic (plastic) liner to isolate the trash from the environment

  3. How do Landfills Work? • A bottom liner keeps the garbage from reaching the outside soil and groundwater • The garbage is separated into cells (perhaps one day's worth) so it can be crushed and compacted to decrease volume • A storm water drainage system collects both liquid from the trash and rainwater from filling in the landfill or leaking • A leachate collection system to collect any liquids that did make it through the landfill and had been contaminated • A methane collection system collects gas from anaerobic organisms that could cause a danger to the environment • A cap seals the landfill

  4. How do landfills hurt the environment? 2. Emissions to Water:Potential emission of leachate and contaminated surface water run-off to: • watercourses (ditches, streams, rivers etc) • groundwater in permeable strata below the landfill. 1. Emissions to Atmosphere:noise, dust, and odor, predominantly from landfill site operation. Also landfill gas, like methane - from just after opening and for possibly several hundred years thereafter. Human Impact: As a species, we have created the need for landfills through the exponential increase in non-recycleable trash and decrease in available space to put it. The above can be attributed to overpopulation and urban sprawl.

  5. What’s the impact of a failed Landfill? Some older dumps have contaminated groundwater used for drinking. Other sites have exposed waste; or fire hazards from seeping landfill gases. Older landfills do not have the precautions of modern landfills and can contain physically and chemically harmful materials which can leak into the earth and groundwater Municipal landfills and their leachate (water) and air emissions are hazardous and all landfills will eventually fail and leak leachate into ground and surface water. BUT, We can help solve the problem by: • Recycling more, throwing away less • Raise awareness about landfills • Petition for legislation to increase the safety of landfills and their procedures.

  6. Video! “How Landfills are Built and Operated” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP9Tcf0CaV0

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