Pros and Cons of Burying Solid Waste

There are effectively two major types of landfills. There is the open dump in which holes in the ground are filled with garbage and topped with soil for good measure. This simple method is common in very many developing countries lacking the infrastructure or funding to implement more sophisticated landfills. The newer landfills are called sanitary landfills. In these "sanitary" landfills, waste is spread out in thin layers and compacted. Each day, they are covered with a fresh layer of clay or plastic foam. The most sophisticated landfills today are constructed on sites away from important resources such as lakes and rivers. Before garbage is dumped into a landfill, an impermeable surface is placed at the bottom so the waste cannot leak into important aquifers and groundwater reserves. This layer collects leachate, which is rainwater that has seeped through the garbage and has collected contaminants. It absorbs the water so it does not go into the pure groundwater reserves. The leachate is periodically pumped into storage tanks and moved to treatment facilities where it is cleaned. When the landfill is completely full, it is topped with clay, sand, and gravel to prevent all water from getting in.
The advantages of this approach are that there is no burning to cause harmful effects to the atmosphere. Also, there is little odor and very little pollution to groundwater if the method is employed correctly. These sites can be built quickly and operate very cheaply compared to burning. They can handle large amounts of waste but are filled eventually. The land on top of landfills can also be used for other purposes if it safe. The downside to this method includes noise and traffic to the landfill. There are often lots of dust thrown into the air in these regions. Sometimes, these landfills leak and contaminate everything surrounding it and may cause the land to be unsuitable for living or construction. Landfills also result in slower decomposition of the waste buried. It may still in the landfill for thousands of years before returning to a more natural form. Finally, use of landfills can result in the contamination of groundwater if used incorrectly.