Landfills, the Last Resort;

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle first

What is rubbish?

- Waste can be defined as discarded items that are of no-use, hence discarded after primary use.
This doesn’t include bodily or toxic waste substances. Many countries around the world,
especially economically poor countries, suffer the adverse consequences of these waste
materials which have piled up here and there on earth, accelerating in amount due to the
increase of environmental pollution.

- As estimated 8 million tons of plastic enters the oceans around the world every year, impossibly
larger than the amounts of garbage disposed to the environment in the previous decades. There
are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in the oceans approximately. This has caused the
ingestion, suffocation and entanglement of plastic in hundreds of marine species, slowly fading
away to extinction from the world.

- Terrestrially, we dump a massive 2.12 billion tons of waste which could be put on trucks that
could go around the whole world for 24 times.

- Accordingly, many methods have been introduced to dispose and get rid of garbage in a proper
manner, with landfill sites being one and the main topic of this text.

What are the problems with landfill sites?

- Landfill locations seem bad. And the issue with landfills isn't simply the unsightly growth of
rubbish piles; they also pose a serious threat to the environment, animals, and human health as
well as being a significant contributor to pollution and global warming. In landfills, trash
decomposes very slowly and causes problems for future generations.

- A landfill site is normally a site used to dumb and dispose garbage either directly or inside
unwanted pits. Toxins, leachate, and greenhouse gases are the three main issues with landfills,
despite the fact that they are one of the methods of rubbish disposal that is most frequently
employed worldwide. Bacteria that are produced by organic waste break down the trash.
Leachate and landfill gas are created when weak acidic compounds produced by rotting trash
interact with waste liquids.
How can we reduce the landfill site rubbish?

- Landfills are unsightly, smelly, and potentially harmful to the environment. As population
growth and urbanization increase, so does the demand for manufactured products, which also
increases the need for more landfills. The followings are some solutions to reduce landfill sites.

- Donate clothes-donate clothes to people in need, shelters, or thrift stores

- Reduce food waste-donate unused items for your pantry; save leftovers for the next meal
- Buy things with less packaging or in bulk
- Eliminate plastic bottle use-use reusable drinking containers
- Don’t buy as much stuff-the less you buy, the less waste you produce
- Reuse-Reusing reduces waste and save money
- Purchase items that are made from recycled materials
- Use rechargeable batteries
- Get to know more about your local policies on trash and recycling
- Be an example-If you start to make a difference, others may follow your lead