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Landfills

Landfills represent an engineered approach to the land disposal of wastes. In many countries, landfills are the primary means for managing municipal solid wastes and other wastes such as construction and demolition debris. Specially designed landfills are used for the disposal of hazardous and even radioactive wastes. Landfills represent an improvement over the open dumps they replaced and yet create serious problems of their own, including finding suitable sites, controlling leachate and gas emissions, and long-term care and monitoring.

Waste Management History

Humans have always faced waste disposal challenges, and our understanding of past societies owes much to the refuse piles they left behind. Historically, open dumps were the preferred means of refuse disposal and were simple in operation, if inelegant in practice. Dumps fostered problems with insects, rodents, odors, and water pollution. The first sanitary landfill in the United States opened in Fresno, California, in the 1930s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was innovative because wastes were compacted and covered with soil at the end of each day. After World War II, sanitary landfills became the accepted approach to solid waste disposal. However, sanitary landfills were hardly free of problems. For example, the Fresno Landfill was added to the National Priorities Superfund List by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has undergone an extensive cleanup designed to clean up contaminated groundwater and prevent migration of dangerous landfill gases. The Fresno Landfill was not unique—many of the U.S. Superfund sites are former dumps or landfills.

The 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) promulgated stringent waste disposal standards. RCRA Subtitle C addresses hazardous wastes and gave the U.S. EPA primary authority to oversee the permitting of facilities for their treatment, storage, and disposal. Subtitle D provides minimum nationwide standards for the disposal of nonhazardous wastes, with regulatory programs administered by state authorities. RCRA classifies wastes as hazardous and nonhazardous based on their origin and chemical characteristics. Nonhazardous wastes include both industrial wastes and municipal solid wastes. Municipal solid wastes are generated by households and businesses. Industrial wastes include construction and demolition debris, medical waste, and special wastes, which are large-volume wastes such as mining, crude oil, and natural gas wastes that were exempted from hazardous waste regulations. With its affluent, consumer lifestyles, in 2006, the United States generated 4.6 pounds per person of solid waste each day. While landfill disposal is prioritized below waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and incineration, it remains the most commonly used technique in the United States. Although incineration reduces the volume of wastes, it still produces significant quantities of ash to be land-filled. In many cases, landfilling is the least expensive alternative. In 2006, 41% of municipal solid waste in the United States was recycled or composted, 13% was combusted for energy recovery, and 55% went directly to landfills.

Hazardous waste and garbage mixture in Lowry Landfill, Colorado, 1978

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Source: U.S. Geological Survey.

Environmental Issues at Landfills

The long-term settlement of the landfill's contents and the stability of its slopes remains an ongoing concern after closure. Wastes inside a landfill undergo biological decomposition in a process that can take years or decades. As oxygen is depleted, anaerobic decomposition produces methane and carbon dioxide—both significant greenhouse gases. Landfill gas often contains explosive levels of methane as well as volatile organic compounds, such as the carcinogens benzene and vinyl chloride. Landfill gas is produced for many years after waste disposal has ceased and can migrate off-site. Liquids in the waste and infiltrating precipitation create landfill leachate, a potent pollutant much stronger than sewage and laden with leached organic and inorganic chemicals.

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