Sending waste to landfills is one of main options for managing waste in society, with two others being recycling and incineration.
In the guide below, we outline the potential pros and cons of landfills as a waste management option.
(Note – the guide below complements our separate guide on the pros and cons of sending specifically plastic as a material to landfill (as opposed to general waste).)
Summary – Pros & Cons Of Landfills
Potential Pros Of Landfills
A summary list of the potential pros outlined in the guide below include:
A Significant Share Of Waste Currently Goes To Landfill In Some Countries
Provides An Option To Manage Waste That Can’t Be Recycled At All, Or Can’t Be Recycled Again
Provides An Option To Manage Waste That Isn’t Economically Feasible To Recycle
Can Help Manage Waste That Can No Longer Be Exported
Can Provide An Option To Manage Waste For Cities Without The Means To Adequately Set Up & Scale Recycling Or Incineration Systems
Provides An Option To Manage Waste That Can’t Be Composted
Landfills Usually Have To Meet Certain Regulations & Standards In Some Countries
Modern Landfills Can Have Several Beneficial Features That Make Them More Sustainable, Eco Friendly, & Safe
May Have Several Benefits Compared To Recycling
May Have Several Benefits Compared To Incineration
Landfills Can Have A Range Of Uses Other Than Dumping Of Waste
Landfill Design & Technology Is Developing
Some Reports Indicate That Land Scarcity Is Not An Issue For The Future Of Landfills
Land Can Be Rehabilitated Or Converted After Landfill Lifespans Come To An End
Can Provide A Livelihood For Some Of The World’s More Unfortunate
Landfills Can Be Used To Store Waste For Other Waste Management Options
Potential Cons Of Landfills
A summary list of the potential cons outlined in the guide below include:
Some Cities Are Currently Managing Their Waste Without A Major Reliance On Landfills
Some New Landfill Sites Can Be Expensive To Set Up, &, Finding A New Landfill Site Can Take Time & Have It’s Challenges
May Provide A ‘Quick & Easy Option’ To Dump Waste That Could Be Recycled, Or Diverted Elsewhere
May Have Several Drawbacks Compared To Recycling
May Have Several Drawbacks Compared To Incineration
Landfills Have Several Of Their Own Potential Environmental & Toxicity Issues To Consider
Uncontained & Poorly Managed Landfills Can Create Several Issues
Landfill Liners Have To Be Maintained & Eventually Replaced
Can Be Dependent On It’s Microbial Population For Break Down Of Organic Waste
Smell
Aesthetics
Can Devalue Surrounding Land & Properties
Competing Land Uses For Land Used For Landfills
Some Countries With Landfills & Dumping Sites Become A Waste Destination For Other Countries’ Trash
Landfills Can Sometimes Be Compromised During Natural Events
Dumping Trucks Can Wear Down & Dirty Roads
What Waste Management Options Are Most Commonly Being Used By Cities Worldwide Right Now?
But, these cities seem to be the exception at this point in time.
The reality with landfills is that many countries and cities currently rely on them to dispose of a significant % of their general waste.
Although recycling and incineration rates could increase in the future, it might be accurate to say that landfills are at least an important part of the short to medium term waste management strategies of many cities.
Potential Pros Of Landfills (Benefits)
A Significant Share Of Waste Currently Goes To Landfill In Some Countries
A significant share of waste currently goes to landfill in several developed countries worldwide.
So, it might be accurate to say that landfills are a key part of waste management now, and will continue to be at least in the short to medium term future.
Landfill sites that accept different types of waste, and individual waste ‘cells’ within an individual landfill site enable landfills to manage different types of waste more effectively.
For example, some landfill sites might accept primarily these types of waste:
– Municipal only
– Commercial/industrial only
– Construction and demolition waste only
– Specific types of hazardous waste only
…plus, other combinations of the above waste streams/types, or other types of waste
In addition to that, individual landfill sites might have different waste ‘cells’ on their site to manage specific types of waste.
An example of this might be a waste ‘cell’ that only accepts organic waste that can be broken down my micro-organsims.
Another example is compatible types of waste that allow for maximum compaction and space efficiency.
Provides An Option To Manage Waste That Can’t Be Recycled At All, Or Can’t Be Recycled Again
Some plastics can’t be recycled, and there are a range of potential reasons for that.
Additionally, some plastics can only be recycled a limited amount of times before they can’t be recycled anymore.
Landfills provide an option other than incineration to manage this plastic waste.
Provides An Option To Manage Waste That Isn’t Economically Feasible To Recycle
Some examples might include:
– Plastic
Some types of plastic are easy and profitable to recycle, whilst others aren’t, and these plastics frequently end up in landfill.
– Glass
There can be environmental and sustainability benefits to recycling glass, but, in some countries, recycling glass has several economic feasibility challenges, such as it being difficult to access affordable supplies of recycled glass cullet, or it being more expensive to recycle glass than importing it.
Other than stockpiling glass, waste managers and recyclers who have no viable market for recycled glass may end up sending the glass to landfill.
Can Help Manage Waste That Can No Longer Be Exported
In the past, China accepted certain types of waste (such as recyclable plastic waste) from other countries.
However, in 2017/18, China imposed an import ban on this waste that many countries had relied upon to export from their waste streams.
This meant that these countries had to find somewhere to direct this waste, and dumping sites and landfill sites were some of the places that this waste went.
Can Provide An Option To Manage Waste For Cities Without The Means To Adequately Set Up & Scale Recycling Or Incineration Systems
Recycling or incineration waste management systems and programs can be expensive and complex for cities to set up and operate compared to basic landfill sites.
Not every city has the means (such as money/funding, infrastructure, knowledge etc.) to set up & operate a waste management system like San Francisco has done.
Even switching waste management strategies can use significant resources.
Basic landfills provide quicker and more affordable access to waste management options in this instance.
Even an uncontained landfill site might be better in some low income regions with high litter and mismanaged waste rates, compared to that waste being littered and becoming pollution.
Provides An Option To Manage Waste That Can’t Be Composted
Only organic types of waste can usually be composted.
Assuming the waste can’t be, or isn’t suitable for recycling or incineration either, landfills provide an option to manage this type of waste.
Landfills Usually Have To Meet Certain Regulations & Standards In Some Countries
In some countries, landfills usually have to meet specific regulations and laws before they can be set up and go into operation.
There can be a pre-approval process, and licenses that have to be obtained.
These things may ensure certain standards are met for landfills.
Modern Landfills Can Have Several Beneficial Features That Make Them More Sustainable, Eco Friendly, & Safe
Modern landfills have become more advanced over time compared to how some landfills used to be designed.
A good modern landfill site may have:
– Good soil lining that is replaced or maintained
– A good leachate management system (that manages leachate and toxins)
– A landfill greenhouse gas capture/collection system
These features may help make the landfill more sustainable, eco friendly (reducing pollution and contamination), and safe.
There’s ways to manage leachate, and there are ways to reduce the greenhouse gases produced by landfills (hcr-llc.com)
[Modern environmental benefits] look far more favorably on landfill now because of how they have advanced with how effectively they can collect and treat methane and leachate … (wbur.org)
… landfill gas can be upgraded to natural gas—landfill gas utilization—which is a potential revenue stream (wikipedia.org)
May Have Several Benefits Compared To Recycling
These benefits may include:
– Environmental & Sustainability
Recycling can use energy, water, and be responsible for emissions (washing plastics before recycling them, as is the recommended practice, could end up adding to greenhouse gas emissions. And the extra trucks and processing facilities produce CO2 as well).
– Economic
Some materials and items don’t make financial sense to recycle, and some argue that governments are wasting money on recycling these materials and items when they could be sent to landfill in a more cost effective way.
Landfills can have fewer fixed or ongoing costs than some types of recycling.
May Have Several Benefits Compared To Incineration
These benefits may include:
– Environmental & Sustainability
Incineration may have issues to do with emissions, air pollutants, the use of energy, production of fly ash waste, and more.
– Economic
Landfills can have fewer fixed or ongoing costs than some types of incineration
Landfills Can Have A Range Of Uses Other Than Dumping Of Waste
Some of these other uses may include:
– Energy Generation
Waste from landfill can be used in a number of ways for energy generation.
Landfills can be used in a commercial context to harvest materials from, for gas recovery, and energy generation from incineration
Methane can be captured from landfills and can be used as a source of energy generation to power homes with electricity
– Other Uses
Apart from disposal of waste, landfills can be used for other purposes such as temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or processing of waste material (sorting, treatment, or recycling)
Landfill Design & Technology Is Developing
New designs and technology are being developed to make better use of waste from landfills, and improve the containment and management of landfill sites.
Some Reports Indicate That Land Scarcity Is Not An Issue For The Future Of Landfills
Some reports indicate that landfills might be reaching capacity and there might not be enough land in the future to create more landfill sites for additional capacity.
Other reports though indicate that there is enough capacity and land in several countries in the short to mid term to manage waste in landfills.
This outlook might even be further improved if we figure out more sustainable ways to deal with landfill waste.
Land Can Be Rehabilitated Or Converted After Landfill Lifespans Come To An End
Land used for landfills doesn’t become land that can’t be used any longer.
Some landfills cab be converted into parks and other green spaces after use.
Land rehabilitation allows for repurposing of the land into another use.
Can Provide A (Temporary) Livelihood For Some Of The World’s More Unfortunate
Although this is not a nice reality to point out – open dumping sites and open landfill sites in some regions of the world may provide a way for citizens to earn a living by picking valuable waste.
In these regions, other viable employment options may not be available, or economic opportunity may be limited.
Landfills Can Be Used To Store Waste For Other Waste Management Options
For example, waste can be stored in landfill before being sent to incineration, or having recyclable material removed
[An advantage of landfill] is having a specific location for disposal that can be monitored, where waste can be processed to remove all recyclable materials before tipping (wikipedia.org)
Potential Cons Of Landfills (Disadvantages)
Some Cities Are Currently Managing Their Waste Without A Major Reliance On Landfills
Cities like San Francisco divert around 70-80% of their waste to recycling facilities and composting facilities, with the rest (only a minority %) being landfill.
San Francisco are looking to become zero landfill waste in the future.
Some New Landfill Sites Can Be Expensive To Set Up, &, Finding A New Landfill Site Can Take Time & Have It’s Challenges
There has to be an assessment of transport costs to get the waste to the landfill site, bushfire risk, flooding risk from nearby rivers and water sources, suitability of the soil, impact on the surrounding area, and other factors.
It generally takes several years to find an appropriate landfill location, get a permit for it, and then build structures that meet environmental standards in places like the US
Some reports say some sites can take up to 5 to 7 years to permit, and can cost millions on dollars.
Some landfills can be expensive to set up depending on the technology used
May Provide A ‘Quick & Easy Option’ To Dump Waste That Could Be Recycled, Or Diverted Elsewhere
With the way that some waste management systems are set up in some cities, landfills can provide a quick and easy option to dump waste that could repurposed, recycled or diverted to another waste management option.
As one example, landfills provide an option for lazy residents who don’t want to sort their waste between general waste and recycling waste streams.
May Have Several Drawbacks Compared To Recycling
– Environmental & Sustainability
Recycling allows for resource recovery and keeping resources in circulation, whereas material sent to landfill stays there.
This is a problem in terms of resource depletion and sustainability.
Virgin materials have to be used to make new products, which means more mining or more manufacturing and depletion of resources.
We might look to reduce, re-use, recycle and recover materials before dumping in landfills
… roughly 80% of the items buried in landfills could be recycled (rubiconglobal.com)
– Economic
Recycling some materials and items may produce a net economic positive compared to sending them to landfill.
For example, aluminum and some other metals can be easy and profitable to recycle, as well as more sustainable to recycle compared to dumping these metals in landfill
May Have Several Drawbacks Compared To Incineration
– Environmental & Sustainability
Compared to incineration, some landfills may contribute to soil pollution, and be responsible for leaked waste such as plastic that becomes pollution.
– Economic
Some reports indicate that when taking into account subsidies or incentives, incineration can be cheaper than dumping or landfill. But, some argue that incineration is much more expensive when taking into consideration government support, and other factors.
Landfills Have Several Of Their Own Potential Environmental & Toxicity Issues To Consider
Including but not limited to:
– Emissions Of GHGs
Landfills can produce greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide from decomposing organic waste.
– Production Of Leachate
Landfills can produce leachate when rain washes through hazardous materials, or materials containing toxic chemicals, in the landfill.
Leachate is a toxic substance, and if it leaks from the landfill, it can contaminate soil and water, and come into contact with living organisms.
Leachate might escape from landfills without lining, with inadequate lining, with linings that aren’t maintained and replaced, and so on.
It can cause water pollution when it gets into groundwater, or surrounding rivers, streams and other water sources
Landfills are among the biggest contributors to soil pollution (rubiconglobal.com)
Uncontained & Poorly Managed Landfills Can Create Several Issues
Some of these issues might include:
– Waste Leaking Into The Environment
This happens with inadequately plastic in some countries, and this plastic that leaks from non secured or uncontained dumping sites and landfills becomes plastic pollution.
– Vermin & Pest Issues
Rats and vermin carrying diseases to and from landfills might also be a problem.
– Pollution & Toxicity Issues Leading To Health & Safety Issues
In some instances, toxic substances and pollutants may leak from landfills and become a health or safety issue for humans who are exposed.
Landfill Liners Have To Be Maintained & Eventually Replaced
Liners to landfills have a lifespan
They have to be maintained, and also replaced before they get weak and start leaking or allowing leachate and toxins through.
Landfills must be maintained, or closed and rehabilitated before this happens.
Can Be Dependent On It’s Microbial Population For Break Down Of Organic Waste
The microbial population in a landfill can determine how effective it is at decomposing waste – if it’s not good, there can be issues.
Smell
The smell of organic waste decomposing and rotting in some landfills can be bad.
Aesthetics
Some landfills can look ugly.
Can Devalue Surrounding Land & Properties
Some data shows that land and properties surrounding some landfills can be devalued because of the presence of landfills.
Competing Land Uses For Land Used For Landfills
Land used for landfill has to be weight up against other potential land uses.
Some argue there are better uses of land other than landfill.
Some Countries With Landfills & Dumping Sites Become A Waste Destination For Other Countries’ Trash
Some States and countries with dumping sites and landfills sites become an import destination for the waste from other countries.
In some instances, the effects of this aren’t always positive – it may come at the expense of the local environment for example.
Landfills Can Sometimes Be Compromised During Natural Events
If landfills are not stabilized, they may experience severe shaking or soil liquefaction of the ground during a large earthquake.
The landfill can be compromised in this instances.
Dumping Trucks Can Wear Down & Dirty Roads
Heavy vehicles may sometimes wear down the roads to some landfills.
Dirt and debris from the wheels of vehicles may also dirty the roads, but, this can be mitigated by wheel washing systems.
Landfill Practices By Country
Read more about practices to do with landfills in Canada, the UK, Europe, the US and other countries at wikipedia.org
Recycling vs Landfill vs Incineration vs Composting: Comparison
We’ve put together a short comparison guide here of the different major waste management options.
Best Way To Manage Waste In Society
We also put together a separate guide on what the best way to manage waste in society might be
Sources
1. Various ‘Better Meets Reality’ resources and guides
2. https://www.hcr-llc.com/blog/the-3-most-common-landfill-problems-solutions
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfill
4. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/us-landfills-are-filling-up/
5. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-06/waste-solutions-in-regional-communities/9727796
6. https://www.rubiconglobal.com/blog/statistics-trash-recycling/
7. https://www.dirtcheaprubbishremoval.com.au/glass-recycling/
8. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2015/10/14/economist-rethink-how-we-recycle
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