What is this landfill where everything from our diapers to shampoo bottles are rotting away?
Landfill is a big structure built on top or into the ground for burying waste. Ideally it should be isolated from air, rain and groundwater. Some of the most important components of a secure, scientific landfill are
- A bottom liner that prevents leachate/waste/dangerous waste from permeating into the soil and groundwater. The bottom liners are generally constructed using some type of durable, puncture-resistant synthetic plastic HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) ranging from 30 to 100 mils thick. The plastic liners may also be designed with a combination of compacted clay soils etc
- Methane collection system: Bacteria in the landfill break down the trash in the absence of oxygen. This process produces landfill gas, which is approximately 50 percent methane. Since methane gas has the potential to burn or explode, it has to be removed from the landfill.
- A top liner: At the end of the day, the waste is compacted and covered by a liner or layer of soil to prevent contact with air.
Lack of scientific landfills in India cause major problems like
- Waste seepage that contaminates ground water
- Lack of oxygen in the layers of waste, causes bacteria to decompose waste and release methane which is many times worse than carbon dioxide.
- It is a storehouse of virus and bacteria that causes diseases to people in contact directly and indirectly to the population at large.Most of the waste being dumped into the landfill is the waste that can either be recycled, reused or composted. What we need is a paradigm change in our mindset to reduce waste and manage waste effectively. What we also need are scientific landfills that can effectively process waste, channel methane to produce energy, and isolate environment from the waste.India hardly has scientific landfills. We built our first scientific landfill at Narela-Bawana. As citizens, we can do our bit by reducing waste, using environment friendly products, up-cycle/re-purpose products and recycling the recyclable materials that we tend to throw ‘away’.