Essay On Landfill

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Landfills Landfills! Are they dangerous or do they benefit us? What are your thoughts? Do you throw away trash that can be recycled? Do you know where all of your trash goes? It all goes to a landfill. Where millions of trash bags live. Landfills are Meant to be safe, but can have some faults to them. Body The composition of a landfill is very important. The composition if a safety figure. If it weren’t for the composition the way it is there could be leakage. There is a simple way to keep from most leakage. First the bottom of a hole ,about a football field long, is filled with clay. The clay in the landfill is then layered with plastic. This plastic is 1/2 of an inch thick. This prevents the waste from leaking into the soil. This procedure protects the leakage out of the bottom. Landfills work like a bathtub, it can leak. In addition to the bottom of the landfill, the top is covered and sealed. “Above that, several feet of dirt fill are topped with soil and plants” says livescience (www.livescience.com) . After the waste is…show more content…
The sealing of the composition allows a lack of oxygen getting to the bacteria in the garbage. According to Livescience “Because of the lack of oxygen, bacteria in the waste produce methane gas.” (www.livescience.com) .This lack makes a methane gas. Methane gas is a toxic chemical that is harmful to the workers and the environment. In addition to the production of Methane gas, there are more reasons landfills are dangerous. The bottom layer helps prevent the leakage, but doesn't always work. According to IUN “In addition to common household chemicals, items such as mothballs, margarine, vinegar ethyl alcohol (booze), shoe polish, peppermint oil will all degrade HDPE and render it dangerous to the surrounding environment.” (IUN.edu). These leaks could run into waterways, agriculture, and many more. Although there are many dangers to landfills there are also several

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