Topsoil is added to help and support vegetation.

A drainage layer full sand, gravel, or plastic mesh that drains excess precipitation to enhance stability and prevent infiltration. A Geomembrane is a thick plastic layer that prevents leeching and reduces odors. At the end of each working period a layer of soil is added to keep soil from scattering and to keep scavengers out.

When waste arrives at the landfill it is compacted into small layers to reduce size of trash. Leachate collection layer is similar to the drainage layer but the Leachate only drains to a pipe system

A dump is an unorganized hole in the ground where trash is buried not caring about the environment when it was made A landfill is an organized place where trash is compacted and separated from the air and water and these are made to protect the environment

Landfill runoff tends to contaminate water resources, but the presence of chemicals quickly and easily passes into the soil and makes the risks of landfill runoff bigger The wide variety of contaminants in the runoff water of a landfill creates a general risk of soil pollution which can harm plants and animals

251 million tons have been generated in 2006 The amount of trash that has been buried in landfills have doubled since 1960 4.5 pound of waste are dumped into landfills each day Fires at a landfill are easily ignited and very hard to put out Some items like Styrofoam can take millions of years to decompose

Once it is closed it is used to create parks, recreational areas and they are used as sources of renewable energy which is used to power thousands of homes and businesses

http://science.howstuffworks.com/enviro nmental/green-science/landfill9.htm

http://www.thinkgreen.com/beneficialland-reuse

http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/munici pal/landfill.htm