Question

What is a Landfill?

Answer 1

Hint: Landfills are the place where all the waste that is generated by our day to day activities. The wastes that are given out of our schools, offices, hospitals and restaurants pile up in these landfills. They are composed of different kinds of waste material.

Complete answer:
Landfills: Landfills are sites that are designed to dispose of the dumping rubbish, garbage and other sort of solid wastes. In the early days, the most common means of disposing of solid waste was either built or left to pile in heaps. They are a common phenomenon that is found around the world due to increases in waste content of schools, houses, offices and hospitals. There are some landfills that are well designed as part of integrated waste management.

Additional information:
Serious causes of Landfills:
1. Solid waste: It is the number one contributor in the landfill's waste disposal that comes from homes, schools, markets, offices, restaurants. Bulbs of them eventually end up in the landfills. This waste includes solid materials like wood, obsolete electronic products, grounded cars etc.
2. Agricultural wastes: This waste arises from waste material that is generated from animal manure, cro and farm remains. Solid waste like animal manure and other agricultural by-products are collectively dumped. These waste remnants are highly toxic and can eventually contribute to contaminating land and water resources.
3. Industrial, manufacturing and construction waste: Industrial processes such as power plants and construction contribute a wide range of solid waste byproducts. The predominant waste products are generated from oil refineries, power plants, construction works, pharmaceuticals etc.
4. Urbanization and population growth: Increase urbanization and population growth rate can considerably increase the number of landfills around the world. This increases the demand in manufacturing, thus eventually increasing in waste products.

Effect of Landfills:
1. Pollution: It contributes to all kinds of pollution in the environment. Toxic gases like methane are released that contribute to increasing the global atmosphere. Many times chemicals are released into the drains or rivers contributing to water pollution. It can even destroy the soil content in the area where they are present.
2. Health effect: It contributes to an increase in health implication in the people living near the landfill areas. The effects are linked with the toxic actions of the chemicals present in the air. From contamination of air, water, the outcome is adverse on human health.
3. Economic costs: The social cost of them is very high. From the management of gases coming out of the landfills to groundwater contamination management to environmental regulatory policies drains a lot of municipality's money.

Impressive solutions of Landfills:
1. Design integrated waste management: Construction of modern landfills with well-engineered and managed disposal facilities can lessen the impact of landfills on soil, air and water.
2. Recycle - Reuse - Reduce: It will become a major environmental issue if the community does not embrace the idea of recycling, reusing and reducing. Increase in demand for manufacturing products is something that is contributing more to the waste products that end up in the landfills. Reducing our demand for these products and reusing the products that we already have and then recycling the old products can definitely help in solving this issue.

Note: Landfills are one the oldest and most common forms of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. They are also known as tip, dump, garbage dump or dumping ground. In the past, refugees left the waste in the pile.