Waste Management and the Landfill Crisis

Humans generate tremendous amounts of waste. Much of this waste is currently disposed of in landfills. Unfortunately the use of landfills poses multiple problems.

• Permanent loss of necessary living, working, and recreational space


• Permanent Loss of vital resources due to disposal of items that could be reused, repaired, refurbished, or recycled


• Costly operation due to stricter laws governing operation, and the rise of energy costs resulting in higher usage fees


• Potential for harmful leaks into the atmosphere or into groundwater despite the development of new technologies; landfills are still relatively low tech solutions to waste management; permanent risk of leakage, necessity of monitoring

According to Hans Tammemagi, author of The Waste Crisis (1999), North Americans generate over 200 million tones of refuse each year! Prior to the spread of global consumerism and urbanization trash was simply disposed of in a convenient location and forgotten. Unfortunately this practice of dumping was adopted and legitimized in the form of the landfill, which has become the principal method of trash disposal. This practice, coupled with the production and use of toxic chemicals, mass consumption, and urban sprawl has led to a myriad of interrelated problems. Despite advances in landfill technology, landfills remain low-tech, transient, and very problematic solutions. Most landfills currently in operation leak, exposing the environment to harmful chemical cocktails: a 1990 U.S. EPA estimate asserted that approximately 75% of the operating landfills leaked (Tammemagi, 1999, p.27).

Further, all landfills represent permanent structures containing dangerous materials that ultimately will fail and leak. “It was also recognized that even state-of-the-art municipal landfills with double liners and other modern leachate containment systems would fail eventually. The increased use of engineering techniques would only postpone, not prevent, the onset of water contamination” (Tammemagi, 1999, p. 27). Accordingly, landfills represent permanent dangers to the environment.

Stricter laws, higher operation costs, and the efficacy of public opposition means that there are fewer landfills opening, and those that are open have dwindling space. A new solution to waste managment is needed.

Tammemagi, Hans. (1999). The Waste Crisis: Landfills, Incinerators, and the Search for a Sustainable Future. New York: Oxford University Press.