The Location Of Landfills

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The Location Of Landfills

Landfill, as defined in the Electronic Encarta World Dictionary 2000, is a method of solid waste disposal in which refuse is buried between layers of dirt so as to fill in or reclaim low-lying ground. There are numerous environmental issues related to landfills. The one that this paper will concentrate is on the issue regarding the location of landfills.

As old landfills are forced to close due to the massive amounts of waste material contained within, many cities search for new landfill space that will meet the necessary standards. Due to rising construction costs, some cities discovered it was less expensive to ship their garbage to other places than to upgrade old landfills or open new ones. Some even went as far as dumping their waste into bodies of water, disturbing the ecosystem present. About eighty percent of Canada's garbage goes to landfills, many of them are rapidly running out of room; half are expected to be filled past capacity by the year 2002. Without the immediate introduction of new means of dealing with our garbage there will be no doubt of not only an environmental crisis but also a human crisis.

Legislation

Specific requirements for the treatment, storage, and disposal of household and solid wastes usually vary considerably from one province to another. In April 1994 the CCME (The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment) published a revised set of regulations for municipal solid waste landfills. According to these rules, planed landfills cites could not be located within earthquake zones, wetlands, floodplains, or near airports. (Hall 17) In Edmonton, the Clover Bar Sanitary Landfill, which opened in November 1975, covers 198 acres and holds over 12 million tonnes ...

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Bibliography:

Bender, David. Garbage and Waste. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997

Bleifuss, Scott. Waste Management Center: Sanitary Landfill. The City Of Edmonton. 8 May 2001.

Corson, Walter H. The Global Ecology Handbook: What You Can Do About the Environmental Crisis. Boston: Beacon Press, 1990.

Denison, Richard A. and John Ruston. Recycling and Incineration: Evaluating the Choices. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1990.

Gerving, Josh. Treatment, Storage and Disposal Requirements. North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation. 8 May 2001.

Hall, Eleanor J. Garbage. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1997.

Wackett, Larry P. and Lynda Ellis. "Bioremediation." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. 2000

Webster, Merrian. Sanitary Landfills. Merriam-Webster Incorporated. 9 May 2001.

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