The goals of the landfill we visited were: to manage waste safely, protect the environment even though it may seem that waste products pollute the environment, and to conserve precious natural resources. Did you also know that the waste stream starts in your home?; it is our responsibility to manage our waste products and we can do this by separating our trash from our recycling and not just dumping everything into the trash. Mr. Smiley once said “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” (Mr. Smiley).
We were informed that the ways of managing waste has come a long way since the days of unlined garbage dumps. Nowadays, landfills are not only working to provide safe and environmentally sound waste disposal for the long-term, but are also continuously improving its technology. Today, landfills are monitored throughout their lifespan and even 30 years after they are closed in order to safeguard the environment. A lot less waste is going to the landfill than before because a lot more people are recycling and not throwing things away.
Presently, modern landfills are collecting methane gas from their interior to generate electricity. This landfill has started installing landfill gas-to-energy plants. These plants take advantage of the “green energy” that is provided by landfill gas. The landfill gas is collected through a network of pipes inside the landfill and transferred to the plant, where it powers turbine engines that produce electricity A few gases that are produced at the landfill are methane gas which produces energy (electricity), H2S, CO2, and Oxygen A few gases that are produced at the landfill are methane gas which produces energy (electricity), H2S, CO2, and Oxygen.
Something’s the landfill cannot bury are tires, batteries, and refrigerators. The landfill is not permitted to take any hazardous waste because they pose a threat to the environment; on the other hand they are permitted to take industrial waste.
We as a Christchurch Community also contribute to the waste at the landfill; the things we waste here in school get taken away to the landfill. There are many ways in which we waste things without even knowing we have wasted it, for example the paper cups we use in the dining hall; we use them for about 5 min and then we throw them away. We do not consider the money used to buy the paper cups. We also take more food than we can eat and then end up wasting the rest of it; energy, time and money were used to make the food that was just wasted. All these things contribute to waste because before we even take it, we do not think about where it came from, how it was made, who made and how long we will be using it for.
Landfills are not a sustainable solution because some landfills use a big machine that burns the garbage down to a waste that is easier to dispose of, usually by burning. The fumes by this waste plant are sometimes used to fuel the machine, like energy. Some plants, however, don't use this tactic. This puts harmful fumes and gases into the atmosphere. Plastics never break down. When burned, plastic releases CFC, Dioxin, among other harmful chemicals into our atmosphere, which depletes the ozone layer. In time, burning these chemicals has been shown to cause climate change. 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. Pollution of our water bodies can harm the economy.
Hakeem Chothia
