The Disadvantages of Landfilling Waste

• Volume - Waste is measured by weight but the volume is what creates a problem.  Municipal waste can only be compressed so much.  For example: a pile of garbage that would be dumped out on the ground from a garbage truck would weigh from 7 to 20 pounds per cubic foot.  After compaction and covering and then continuous compaction this pile of garbage will only increase by no more than 30%.  To give perspective, an un-compacted pile of garbage the size of a minivan  would be the size of a 4 door sedan after compaction. 
• Unregulated - The larger the amount of waste that is brought into a sorting facility the more unregulated the waste becomes.  The actual contents that is dumped into a landfill is unknown.  Landfill managers have systems to track  daily amounts and location but they do not know what is actually in the location.  There could be hazardous waste, biological waste, and other toxic wastes that should be treated by other means.
• Environment - Buried waste is not safe no matter how deep it is buried, if it is in a liner or not, or if it is bailed or not.  Liners will contain run-off but the run-off needs to be treated by a process that also produces waste.  The amount of methane that is produced from a landfill is so great that energy can be generated from this.  We did a generator installation on a small municipal landfill of about 72 acres that produced 1 megawatt per hour.  That is a lot of methane for such a small area.  The system was abandoned because the gases that came out of the landfill were so corrosive that the generator could not stay operate for any consistent amount of time.  What happens to the gasses if they aren't collected and burned?
• Wildlife - No matter where a landfill is, is planned, or was; there is, was, or will be wildlife in that area.  Wildlife will always be drawn to the smell of food.  Landfills are full of food for animals whether it is safe for them to eat or not.  Some areas in the north with high bear populations have to actually spread lye on the garbage after it is compacted to inhibit the bears from digging it up.  There is added costs, labor, and another level of waste added to the environment. 
• Unusable Space - No matter how much dirt is piled on top of that garbage that area cannot be used for generations. 
• Smell - Dirt does not stop the smell.  Read the section on this page about environment again.

Now check out the Advantages of Thermal Waste Processing