Reasons to Stop Landfilling
Using a landfill to dispose of waste is not only harmful to the environment, but it is also a costly business for the government and the taxpayers. In fact, the health costs of landfills are high, and the methane emissions caused by landfills are devastating to our air. It is time to stop putting waste in landfills, and to adopt alternative methods of disposal for objects that are not landfillable.
Methane emissions from landfills
Almost a fifth of the world's methane emissions come from rotting landfills. They can be dangerous for the air and health of communities nearby. Fortunately, there are many effective strategies to reduce methane emissions from landfills. In fact, 80% of methane emissions could be reduced by 2030 with proper methane abatement strategies.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. It's 28-36 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere over a 100 year period. It is also a climate super-pollutant. The waste sector is the second largest source of human-caused methane emissions, behind oil and gas production.
MSW landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions in the United States. In 2010, the U.S. had the highest methane emissions from landfills in the world. The emissions from these facilities decreased a bit, but they released an estimated 148 million metric tons (163 million tons) of CO2 equivalent in 2014. This is equal to 73 million cars a year.
Health effects of waste management
Managing waste at landfills has many effects on the environment and human health. The most obvious is the emission of greenhouse gases. This process is not only environmentally damaging, but can also lead to the spread of infectious diseases.
The development of waste landfills is accompanied by changes in the biodiversity of the surrounding area. For example, some species of mammals are replaced by species that feed on waste. Other animals like flies and rodents are drawn to the garbage, causing a host of infectious diseases.
The aforementioned study was conducted in the capital city of Ouagdougou in Burkina Faso, where the World Bank has supported the solid waste sector since 2005.
The study compared the environmental health effects of MSW incineration versus those of waste management at landfills. The authors concluded that the former was the more significant.
The same study looked at how landfills impact air pollution. The EPA identified several factors that shape landfill by-product emissions. These include the quality of deposited waste, the number of years the landfill has been operating, and climatic conditions in the surrounding area.
Public health costs of landfills
Using a landfill to dispose of solid waste is the most efficient method, but it also comes with some deleterious effects. These include air pollution, land pollution, and water pollution.
Some of these impacts can be prevented by better waste management practices. For example, setting a concrete minimum distance for settlements can reduce deleterious effects. In addition, reducing the amount of garbage deposited in landfills is one way to reduce the burden on our natural resources.
Other important effects are the health consequences associated with living near a landfill. For example, children who live near a landfill are more likely to be exposed to hazardous substances. This can lead to an increased risk of congenital malformations and other health problems.
Some of the pollutants associated with landfills are dust, rodents, and other toxic chemicals. For example, a 2003 British study reported a link between the development of waste landfills and a number of health issues. These included adverse birth outcomes, decreased life expectancy, and lower birth weight.
