How can landfills affect the environment

Electronic waste is a good example. Waste such as televisions, computers and other electronic appliances contain a long list of hazardous substances, including mercury, arsenic, cadmium, PVC, solvents, acids and lead. Read more about e-waste and computers here.

Join our growing community of over , Victorians and learn how you can make a difference???? Leachate is the liquid formed when waste breaks down in the landfill and water filters through that waste. This liquid is highly toxic and can pollute the land, ground water and water ways. When organic material such as food scraps and green waste is put in landfill, it is generally compacted down and covered. This removes the oxygen and causes it to break down in an anaerobic process. Check out this article on single-use plastics and how to avoid them from the CU Zero Waste team here.

Landfills lack the oxygen that compostable items need to fully decompose. By putting biodegradable items into the compost instead of the trash, huge amounts of waste can avoid the landfill. Landfills help to keep our communities clean, but they also pose serious threats to the health of our environment. Working towards living a zero waste lifestyle will help to reduce our reliance on landfills, their impact on the environment, and their impact on human health and well-being.

Environmental Center. Search Enter the terms you wish to search for. The Hidden Damage of Landfills. Environmental Impact of Landfills The most pressing environmental concern regarding landfills is their release of methane gas.

Social Impact of Landfills Emissions from landfills pose a threat to the health of those who live and work around landfills. Landfills bring hazards such as odor, smoke, noise, bugs, and water supply contamination. How to avoid landfills Recycle! Categories: ZW Did you know? Soil in the area may be saturated with chemicals or hazardous substances. About two-thirds of landfill waste contains biodegradable organic matter from households, business and industry. As this material decomposes, it releases methane gas.

As a potent greenhouse gas, methane traps up to 20 times more heat in the atmosphere compared with carbon dioxide the EPA states. In the U. Oftentimes the air surrounding landfill sites smells unpleasant, due to the decaying organic waste. According to the Romanian Ministry of Environment and Forests, the development of a landfill site means the loss of approximately 30 to species per hectare. Changes also occur in local species, with some mammals and birds being replaced by species that feed on refuse, such as rats and crows.

Vegetation changes also occur, regardless of the duration of the landfill site, as some plant species are replaced by others. As rain falls on landfill sites, organic and inorganic constituents dissolve, forming highly toxic chemicals leaching into groundwater.

Water that rinses through these chemicals collects at the base of the landfill and usually contains high levels of toxic metals, ammonia, toxic organic compounds and pathogens. This can result in serious contamination of the local groundwater.

Even more dangers, this mixture usually creates a high biological oxygen demand, meaning it can quickly de-oxygenate water.

If or when these noxious chemicals reach rivers or lakes, it could result in the death of aquatic life.