A place to explore and learn, where science and reality collide in an explosion of research-based education.
Although curbside and at-home composting has increased in popularity, organic material still ends up in landfills. Here we'll discuss the repercussions of organic material in landfills and why it's so important to compost organic material.
Organic material refers to anything that is alive! In more technical terms, organic material is anything that contains large carbon-based compounds that were formed by living organisms. Examples of organic material that could end up in landfills include food scraps, lawn and garden clippings.
When organic materials end up in your trash bag and find their way into landfills, they decay and produce landfill gas (methane or CO2) and leachate (trash juice). Methane gas is a result of organic material breaking down in anaerobic environments. Anaerobic biodegradation occurs when there is no oxygen available to promote decomposition. Landfill layers are incredibly compressed, so there is no opportunity for oxygen to flow through like in compost.
Organic material biodegradation in landfills (decay) happens in four phases. Carbon dioxide spikes during phases one and two, methane creation spikes in phase three when there is a complete lack of oxygen, and the production of both landfill gases (LFG) continues in phase four, with methane compromising 50-55% of LFG and carbon dioxide 45-50%. The remaining 2-5% are other LFG.
The other product of decay in landfill is the production of leachate. Leachate, also known as trash juice, occurs when rainwater trickles through the layers of trash and picks up contaminants. While leachate can pick up toxins from all sorts of trash, its main source is from decaying organic material.
Each landfill has systems in place to divert rainwater from getting into trash. However, no system is perfect, and water does end up in landfill cells. Once the rainwater trickles through the garbage, leachate pipes catch the toxic water and drain it into leachate collection ponds. Leachate pipes are perforated and run throughout landfills, ensuring all leachate is caught and transferred into the collection ponds. The leachate ponds collect this toxic water until it is treated, typically on-site.
Landfill cells have pipe systems that draw the leachate out of active cells and pump out landfill gases. Depending on the landfill, the gas can be burned or captured into energy.
As outlined above, carbon dioxide and methane are created as a result of anaerobic decomposition in airtight landfills. Methane is one of the strongest greenhouse gases, with a warming potential 28-36 times stronger than carbon dioxide. It poses a huge threat to global warming and is a safety hazard to landfills due to its explosive nature. Currently, landfills are the third-largest source of methane in the United States.
Leachate is mainly created from water run-off after it rains over landfills. The water seeps down each level and mixes with the trash. The main contributor to trash juice is the presence of organic materials in landfills.
Leachate consists of heavy metals, organic compounds, and other toxic components like ammonia, fecal matter, lead, and arsenic, based on the type of trash it comes in contact with.
There are multiple ways of dealing with leachate after it is collected from landfills, including Aerobic Biological Treatment, Anaerobic Biological Treatment, Physiochemical Treatment, Coagulation, and other advanced techniques like carbon adsorption or in exchange. These processes all neutralize leachate.
Methane and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases. These gases absorb and emit radiant energy within the thermal infrared range. Like a greenhouse, this process causes a warming effect. Greenhouse gases that leak into our air warm the atmosphere and in turn, the planet. This is what's known as global warming.
We don't just talk the talk, at Smart Plastic we prove everything we say with credible third-party testing. Below you will find the corresponding tests that apply to all our claims.
