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By Crystal a . Mierow Six Nations Mohawk
We all have a responsibility to Mother Earth to do what we can to limit the amount of garbage we produce . Reach out and educate your families , friends and children in the ways that we can contribute to making our Earth a better place . Our children and future generations depend on our actions to thrive . We all need to do our part to protect humanity , animals , birds , aquatic life , water , air , earth , plants , and mostly our drinking water , because without clean water we truly won ’ t exist . When we throw away our garbage does anyone think about where it goes or what happens to it after the garbage truck comes ? Most of us don ’ t give it a second thought . It is important to realize that our trash fills up a ton of space in many states of our country . All of these things impact our soil where our food is
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grown and where our drinking water can be contaminated . The breakdown of these compounds also impacts the air that we breathe .
The first landfill was built in Fresno , California in 1937 and had three components which included trenching , compacting and covering the soil . Today , it is a National Landmark signifying our country ’ s first permitted sanitary facility designed to bury waste . Landfills were created to protect the health of humans and the environment by controlling air emissions and water control . They are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ).
Our Federal Legislature created the 1st federal regulation for Solid waste in 1965 called the “ Solid Waste Disposal Act ” ( SWDA ). The first national office of solid waste followed in the mid 1970 ’ s . All states are now required to follow solid waste regulations and enforce their own permits & federal laws as allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ). Violations can
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impose hefty fines and negatively impact our environmental conditions . Permit programs in each state are required to ensure landfills are in compliance with federal standards . The EPA determines if state permits programs are suitable .
In 1979 the EPA developed criteria for sanitary landfills which restricted certain geographical areas . Some of these restrictions included ; flood plains , surface water , protection of groundwater , Vector control ( rodents , insects , birds ), disease prohibitions to open burning , explosive gas ( methane ), and fire prevention guidelines to control and cover materials . The EPA set new federal standards in 1991 and updated locations and design requirements for solid waste landfills . They also implemented a way to monitor groundwater requirements to keep our water clean .
Waste Management , Inc . has headquarters in Houston , Texas . They operate 5 of the top 10
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largest landfills in the U . S . and own 3 of them independently . Puente Hills near Whittier , California is the United States largest landfill and permits have been terminated as of 2013 to no longer accept waste . The site has over 700 acres of landfill rising over 500 feet . The last reported estimate for overall waste in the U . S . was in 2013 with over 265 million metric tons . In 2010 Americans recovered about 65 million tons of waste through recycling . In 2009 it was last reported there were over 1,900 landfills in the U . S . which is a decline from 1986 when we had over 7,600 landfills . Most of these have been consolidated into larger facilities . Technology has allowed us to accept 30 % more refuse per acre of space but in the interim each person now creates 30 % more waste to dispose .
The large amount of waste in our landfills has created some environmental issues globally . We are the second largest emitter of fossil fuels burned in the world . All of this contributes to negative environmental changes
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2 . Flexible Geomembrane- 2 feet of soil must be compacted with clay to line the bottom and sides of the landfill to protect the soil from Leachates being released into the groundwater . Landfill leachates are organic or inorganic liquid compounds that are created from waste or rainwater that enters the landfills .
3 . Leachate collection & removal systems- A composite liner must be put on top of landfills to remove leachates for treatment and disposal . Monitoring leachate levels prevents pollution of ground area surface and ground water contaminants . A Leachate collection system is implemented and is usually a three step process . The process is 99 % effective at removing trace organics and 85 % of heavy metals .
4 . Operating Practices-Several inches of soil needs to be compacted and covered frequently to reduce insects and rodents , bird control , decreases odor and controls litter .
5 . Groundwater Monitoring Requirements-groundwater wells are tested to determine if any waste has escaped from the landfills contaminating groundwater . Landfills that are less than 20 tons a day are generally not required to monitor groundwater contamination . The three types of monitoring are detection , assessment and corrective measures .
6 . Closure and Post Closure Procedures- Long term care and maintenance of closed areas and covering of landfills before closure . The U . S . imposes a 30 year post closure monitoring period for landfills . During this time they are monitored very closely to ensure protection of public health and environmental safety . After they are closed there are three types of categories that they can be labeled for use . Category 1 is for open space , agricultural or passive recreation . Examples would be parks , cemeteries , trails . Category 2 is active recreation , industrial / commercial activities or parking . Paving or light structures are allowed such as baseball fields , golf courses , parking lots . Category 3 is intensive use for residences , industry or commercial development . Examples would be malls , shopping centers , stadiums or universities .
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