|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Landfill
LandfillA landfill is a large area of land or an excavated site that is designed and built to receive wastes. There were 3,536 active municipal landfills in the United States in 1995 according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Today, about 55 percent of America's trash (more than 220 million tons annually) is disposed of in landfills. Municipal solid-waste landfills (MSWLFs) accept only household, commercial, and nonhazardous industrial waste. Hazardous waste generated by industrial sources must be disposed of in special landfills that have even stricter controls than MSWLFs. In the past, garbage was collected in open dumps. Most of these small and unsanitary dumps have been replaced by large, modern facilities that are designed, operated, and monitored according to strict federal and state regulations. These facilities may be distant from urban centers, requiring the large-scale transport of waste. About 2,300 municipal solid waste landfills were operating in the United States in 2000. A typical modern landfill is lined with a layer of clay and protective plastic to prevent the waste and leachate (liquid from the wastes) from leaking to the ground or groundwater. The lined landfill is then divided into disposal cells. Only one cell is open at a time to receive waste. After a day's activity, the waste is compacted and covered with a layer of soil to minimize odor, pests, and wind disturbances. A network of drains at the bottom of the landfill collects the leachate that flows from the decomposing waste. The leachate is usually sent to a recovery facility to be treated. Methane gas, carbon dioxide, and other gases produced by the decomposing waste are monitored and collected to reduce their effect on air quality. EPA regulations require many larger landfills to collect and burn landfill gas. EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program was created in 1994 to educate communities and local government
Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, the largest landfill in the United States, accepting approximately 27,000 tons of garbage a day in the late 1980s, closed in March 2001. Although landfills occupy only a small percentage of the total land in the United States, public concern over possible ground water contamination as well as odor from landfills makes finding new sites difficult. see also Solid Waste; Waste, Transportation of. internet resourcesfreudenrich, craig c. "how landfills work." available from http://www.howstuffworks.com/landfill.htm. u.s. environmental protection agency office of solid waste web site. available from http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer. Office of Solid Waste/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
|
|
Cite this article
"Landfill." Pollution A to Z. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Landfill." Pollution A to Z. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3408100145.html "Landfill." Pollution A to Z. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3408100145.html |
|
landfill
land·fill / ˈlan(d)ˌfil/ • n. a place to dispose of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil, esp. as a method of filling in or extending usable land. ∎ waste material used to reclaim ground in this way. ∎ an area filled in by this process. • v. [tr.] bury in a landfill: the Florida school intends to landfill its old computers. |
|
|
Cite this article
"landfill." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "landfill." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-landfill.html "landfill." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-landfill.html |
|
landfill
landfill(sanitary landfill) A method for the hygienic disposal of bulky wastes, in which the waste is deposited in a hollow that is excavated and sealed to prevent the contamination of adjacent land or water by leaching. At intervals, usually of one day, the waste is levelled, then buried beneath soil. See also made ground.
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "landfill." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "landfill." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-landfill.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "landfill." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-landfill.html |
|
landfill
landfill See MADE GROUND.
|
|
|
Cite this article
AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "landfill." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "landfill." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-landfill.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "landfill." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-landfill.html |
|
landfill
landfill •bill, Brazil, brill, Camille, chill, cookchill, dill, distil (US distill), downhill, drill, Edgehill, Estoril, fill, freewill, frill, fulfil (US fulfill), Gill, goodwill, grill, grille, hill, ill, instil, kill, krill, mil, mill, nil, Phil, pill, quadrille, quill, rill, Seville, shill, shrill, sill, skill, spadille, spill, squill, still, stock-still, swill, thill, thrill, till, trill, twill, until, uphill, will
•hwyl • bank bill • handbill • waxbill
•playbill, waybill
•cranesbill • sibyl • crossbill • sawbill
•hornbill • storksbill • shoebill
•spoonbill • duckbill • razorbill
•gerbil • wind chill • Churchill • idyll
•daffodil • back-fill • landfill • monofil
•fibrefill (US fiberfill) • chlorophyll
•bluegill
|
|
|
Cite this article
"landfill." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "landfill." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-landfill.html "landfill." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-landfill.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
