Background Information
Landfills are becoming a huge problem within the United States. In California alone there are 188 landfills. Along with having piles of tons of garbage, landfills also contain many health issues. One of the biggest health concerns is that because of the lack of oxygen for decomposing items, methane gas is produced. This type of gas can be potentially explosive. Most methane gas in landfills is lend through pipes and then burned. The gas that is not burned though goes straight into the atmosphere and furthers global warming. Landfills will continue to become a problem to people’s health and the Earth unless people do something.
Here are some alarming statistics regarding landfills and waste.
· In 2003, Californians disposed of 40.276 million tons of waste into landfills. (California Integrated Waste Management Board)
· The amount of methane gas produced each year from landfills is between 30 to 70 million tons. (GreenHouse Gas Online.org)
· Paper makes up for 40% of the waste in landfills. (John E. Swanson)
· Although the point of landfills is for waste to biodegrade there, it is nearly impossible because of the lack of air, moisture and sunlight. (ENERLIX .com )
