All About Landfills

Published on 01/06/2011

First Update 16/03/2017

Landfills are basically the specific areas or sites where waste materials and garbage is disposed off on a regular basis. These special sites are constructed for the decomposition of different types of waste, be it industrial or household waste. This is one of the most ancient forms of waste disposal method that has been used for centuries all around the world. If the landfills are organized in the proper manner then they can be a very good source of waste disposal. The landfills are divided into internal as well as external sites where waste is disposed off accordingly.

These days waste management is becoming a very big problem in most of the countries across the world that is why it is very important for households and industries to recycle and manage their waste before disposing it off in the landfills. Some important information that you need to know about landfills is mentioned below.

1. Used for the waste management purposes

Most of the landfills are used for waste management purposes. They can be used as internal as well external source of waste disposal. The waste is collected regularly from household as well as industries. Once all the waste is accumulated in the same place it is weighed. Those waste materials that do not come under the safe category are separated and removed from the rest of the bulk. Once the separation is made, the waste is carried to the site on various trucks. The vehicles that carry the weight also have to undergo a cleaning process before they can leave the premises. The landfills are usually situated out of the city and in very remote areas so that the dirt and odour of waste does not disrupt the ordinary city life.

2. Temporary storage

Sometimes the landfills are also used as temporary storage sites. The waste is collected on these sites and then it is shifted to other areas. Usually the waste that can be re-used and recycled is dumped here for temporary storage. Industrial waste is also sometimes dumped here on a temporary basis and later on they are taken out for chemical treatment. During the temporary storage the authority needs to be very careful. They are accountable to ensure that the chemical or harmful waste materials are kept separate from the ordinary household waste.

3. Processing of waste material

In most of the cases waste material is also processed in the landfills. The different processes like recycling, treatment and sorting take place in the same landfills that are used for dumping the waste matter. Recycling is a very efficient process through which the household and industrial waste can be converted into completely new products which can be used for number of times. When the materials are dumped into the landfills, the ones that are in good condition are kept out for the recycling process. These days most of the households are also recycling their products before they even reach the dumping area.

4. Impacts of the landfill operations

Landfill operations are very dangerous and they might have a bad impact on human health, if proper instructions are not followed. Some of the adverse impacts of the different operations are pollution, damage to infrastructure, soil contamination and injuries to animals and birds. The authorities should be very careful and they should take all the necessary steps to minimize the loss caused by the landfill operations. Sometimes organic waste materials produce Methane gas that is known to cause the green house effect. Most of the landfills that you would find in the city are funded by commercial authorities whereas others are operated for profit.

I am sure the article would definitely help you to gather all the important information that you require about the landfills and different operations that are carried out in that area.