Mining Hidden Treasures of Landfills

Every year the average individual disposes more than 1200 pounds worth of rubbish. Nearly 70% of this waste could be recycled. The mining of our landfills for untapped resources could prove to be beneficial for the environment and the American economic system. This process is known as landfill mining and reclamation or LFMR. Nearly 70% of our landfills are reclaimable, but approximately 35% of the reclaimable products are paper oriented. degrades over time and cannot be reprocessed subsequently much of this would be lost.

This leaves nearly 35% of our landfills filled with plastic, glass and scrap metals than may be reprocessed. Many of these scrap metals are common metals like steel and aluminum. Many more treasured metals may also be recovered, such as gold, silver, platinum, and copper. This could supercharge the revenues America attains by a great deal, and scale down our wastefulness in the process. Glass, for example, can be converted into glassphalt while other glass particulars and plastics are also recycled. Plastics can be formed into various items such as newfangled bottles, flowerpots, hangers, and even yarn for clothing. These materials can be obtained in abundance in our landfills, and can also be distributed to reprocessing companies. Landfill mining is relatively inexpensive and a good business opportunity for the citizenry who are environmentally friendly.

The conception of landfill mining was introduced in 1953 at a landfill in Israel. In several landfills the concentration of aluminum cans was in reality much higher in respect to the concentration of aluminum in the rock bauxite where aluminum ore is obtained. This implies that less work has to be exercised to make pure and extract the aluminum from the landfill in question. This may be a critical resource since the aluminum can be extracted for a much more modest cost, and with a great deal less work.

Once upon time, people were allowed to roam their local landfill to scavenge articles for reclamation. Sadly, due to possible hazards and health concerns, this is no longer an allowed practice. Landfill mining and reclamation is the modern alternative that can also offer new energy resources by reclaiming methane gas and creating biofuels from the food wastes. At present our current state of technology allows numerous possibilities into reclamation to provide fuel and goods, not to mention jobs and new industries. Only time will tell of all the buried treasures in our landfills.