Environmental Problems Caused by Landfills

Author: Mahrukh (University of Peshawar)

Landfill means the disposal of waste material by burying it, especially as a method of filling in and reclaiming excavated pits. There are many problems caused by landfills. Two of the major negative effects caused by landfills are atmospheric effects and hydrological effects. Both of these effects have equal importance.

1.      Atmospheric effects:

The rotting organic matter in unmanaged landfills produce methane which is 20 time more effective then carbon dioxide but it is not compulsory that landfills only produce methane but household cleaning chemicals also produce methane. The chemicals like bleach and ammonia can produce toxic gases in landfills that can impact the quality of air in landfills. Dust and other forms of non chemical mixture often make their way into the atmosphere.

2.      Hydrological effects:

The household cleaning and industrial chemicals make toxic soup in landfills. People throw away wastage in landfills from industrial chemicals to household cleaning which mix over time. Most of the times, animals come into contact with these chemicals and suffer from toxic diseases which mostly result in deaths.

Landfill fires:

The wastage and gases in landfill can easily ignite fire the most flammable gases methane which is commonly produce by landfills the fire  fighters use a fire  retardant foam to fight against fire in landfills due to presence  of chemicals.

These are the problems caused by landfills but after the popularity of recycling more landfills have brought in use and now many companies look at landfills as gold mines, so the best way to clean our environment from landfill pollution is recycling.