Many communities face the problem of more and more garbage being thrown away, with less and less space to dispose of it. By 2000, we are expected to produce over 220 million tons of garbage a year. Currently, there are about 36,000 municipal solid waste landfills in the United States. As we continue to produce more garbage, landfills are filling up and it is getting harder for communities to agree on where to put new landfills. While people may know that new landfills are needed, not many want them in their neighborhood.
Landfills are also expensive to build.
This garbage is usually disposed of in municipal solid waste landfills, placed in or on the land surface. If they are designed and operated right, landfills are lined to prevent leaks and have systems to collect leachate, potentially contaminated rainwater and other liquids that flow over the site and filter down through the landfill. Most landfills separate different types of waste in the landfill to prevent contact between incompatible wastes. EPA regulations set minimum standards that municipal solid waste landfills must meet. These standards reduce the chance that landfills will cause pollution, specifying where landfills can be safely located, how they should be managed, and what must be done to clean up groundwater if it is contaminated.