BASICS OF A LANDFILL

Hazardous Waste & Environmental Racism

#162

Fine Particles--Part 5: Incineration Worsens Landfill Hazards

#164

The Landfiller's New Plan: Megafills

#180

Commercial Hazardous Waste Landfills

#182

Chemical Dumps Make Good Homes For Poor Families, EPA indicates

#190

Incinerator Ash--Part 2: All Wastes Must Go Somewhere Forever

#403

EDF Proposes Incinerator Ash Dumps

#224

Nation's Greatest Danger: Secrecy [Military Toxics]

#227

The Military Toxics Scandal Deepens

#239

The Poisoners Invade Indian Country

#272

Government Facts on Dumps Remain Sketchy

#278

Government Burial Of Asbestos On Sacred Navajo Land

#183

Coming Your Way: Radioactive Garbage

Superfund & Health

#176

Hooked on Danger: Expanding Solid Waste Landfills

#271

National Academy Superfund Dumps Make People Sick

#332

Why Exalt Wise Use? [industry can't stop polluting]

#370

Superfund Dumps & Health, Part 2

#371

Superfund Dumps & Health, Part 3

Landfill Politics

#231

EPA Proposes A Perfect Solution For New Municipal Solid Waste Landfills

#238

The Regulatory-Industrial Complex

#241

Citizens Seek Reform Of The Nation's Hazardous Waste Law

#268

EPA's New Landfill Rules Protect Big Garbage Haulers

#288

New Tools For Citizens: 'Bad Boy' Laws

#292

Congress Creates A Monster: The ATSDR [superfund]

Strategies & Alternatives

#232

Public Ownership Of Dumps Is The Key

#260

Storing Superfund Waste In Concrete Buildings Seems to Make Sense

#289

Good Solid Waste Alternatives [composting]

#307

New Garbage Strategies Are Now Possible

#352

Composting Municipal Solid Waste


Environmental Research Foundation's
QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT LANDFILLS

It is important to have a basic understanding of the landfill being proposed for your community. We suggest that you ask the following questions of both the landfill operator and the local governing boards that will be giving the permits to the landfill operator.

·  How big will the landfill be in acres?

·  What is the depth of the landfill in feet, and what will be the height of the highest point of the cap after the landfill is closed?

·  How much of the acreage will be filled with garbage?

·  How much of the acreage will be used for the buffer zone?

·  How much of the acreage will be unused?

·  What is the maximum tons per day they will accept?

·  Does the contract have a minimum tons per day quota (often called put or pay clauses)? If it does who is responsible for finding the additional tonnage or the money in lieu of the tonnage?

·  What type of garbage will it be filled with:

municipal solid waste

medical waste

hazardous waste

low level radioactive waste

below regulatory concern (brc) waste

special waste (often incinerator ash)

incinerator ash

industrial solid waste

demolition debris

other waste

·  Will they be putting recyclables in the landfill (glass, aluminum, tin, paper, etc.)?

·  Will they be putting clean organic compostables in the landfill (for example, yard wastes)?

·  If they are putting recyclables and organic compostables in the landfill will they be putting them in separate cells?

·  In tons per day, how much of the garbage will come from your town, county, state, out-of-state?

·  How many years will the landfill be in operation?

·  Will it be lined and capped? If so what will these be made of?

·  How long will the operators be responsible for it once it is closed, often referred to as the post-closure period?

·  Who will be responsible for it once the post-closure period is over?


RESOURCES ON LANDFILLS

ORGANIZATIONS AND JOURNALS:

Center for Health, Environment & Justice
P.O. Box 6806
Falls Church, VA 22040

(703) 237-CCHW
Publishes bimonthly: EVERYONE'S BACKYARD

G. Fred Lee and Associates
27298 East El Macero Drive
El Macero, CA 95618

(530) 753-9630
http://www.gfredlee.com/

Greenpeace
1436 U Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20009

(202) 462-1177
Publishes quarterly: GREENPEACE
http://www.greenpeace.org/

PAHLS (People Against Hazardous Landfill Sites)
Suite A
102 North Morgan
Valparaiso, IN 46383
(219) 465-7466

Southwest Research and Information Center
P.O. Box 4524
Albuquerque, NM 87106

(505) 262-1862
Publishes quarterly: THE WORKBOOK

SUGGESTED READING:

Citizen's Clearinghouse for Hazardous Wastes. LAND DISPOSAL ... THE DINOSAUR OF DISPOSAL METHODS. Falls Church, Va.: Citizen's Clearinghouse for Hazardous Wastes, April 1986.

Connett, Paul. WASTE MANAGEMENT: AS IF THE FUTURE MATTERED. Canton, N.Y.: Work on Waste USA, May 1988.

Cozza, Blythe I. DEBUNKING THE LANDFILL HIGH TECHNOLOGY MYTH. Wheeler, Ind.: PAHLS, Inc., 1989.

Lee, G. Fred and Anne R. Jones. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN LINED, "DRY TOMB" LANDFILLS: A TECHNOLOGICALLY FLAWED APPROACH FOR PROTECTION OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY. El Macero, Calif.: G. Fred Lee & Associates, March, 1992.

VIDEOS:

Greenpeace. WHY ALL LANDFILLS LEAK [this video features our very own Peter Montague explaining in detail everything you need to know about landfills]. Washington, D.C.: Greenpeace [Public Information; phone: (202) 319-2444], 1991.


Compiled by Maria B. Pellerano, revised by Brady Parkhurst, edited by Andrea K. Fearneyhough. March 1995.


Other Landfill Resources:

1.      Landfill Impact Publications (Dr. G Fred Lee's site)

2.      Friends of the Earth's Citizen's Guide to Municipal Landfills

3.      Grassroots Recycling Network's landfills page

4.      Landfills Leak (testimony and documentation on leakage studies)

5.      Landfills: Hazardous to the Environment

6.      "From data compiled by LLSI, 82% of surveyed landfill cells had leaks while 41% had a leak area of more than 1 square feet." (According to Leak Location Services, Inc., http://www.leaklocationservices.com/landfills.htm)


This site is maintained by the ACTION Center.

Last modified: July 2008

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