Study how nature does the same things you are trying to do. This can help you clarify the issues, and it can come in handy when trying to communicate the issues to your peers and to consumers. In nature, nothing goes to waste. Everything is recycled. Manure fertilizes the fields upon which cows graze.
Soil represents decayed plants and animals.
In nature, burial is a form of preservation, not waste management. The squirrel that buries his acorns in Fall expects to find them in Winter. As we all know, nothing degrades in landfills. Landfills don't have the air and water to sustain the microbes that decompose waste. So landfills, as garbologists have been trying to tell us, are really giant holding pens for old tires, old packages and other trash.