Landfills

1. Landfills

2. What do you already know about landfills? • Under knowledge, list in point form 2-3 things that you already know about landfill ecosystems.

3. Landfill Video Clips • Talking Trash: Lessons from a landfill. • Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR2eqZIu40M&feature=related • How does a Modern Landfill work? • Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC1u6rJkyzA&feature=related

4. What were some of your first thoughts?

5. Some of the reactions that I had after viewing the clips: Gross and dirty Disgusting, smelly, and icky Polluting This isn’t something that I see everyday. I’m far removed from this sort of thing.

6. How would you feel if I told you that next week the Town of Whitby is going to build a landfill site just over behind the shops at Garden and Taunton? Map of proposed landfill site: https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&q=taunton+and+garden+on+map+in+whitby&ie=UTF-8 • This landfill site would: • Be in your backyards. • Be closely located to where you spend your free time shopping, eating and hanging out. • Pollute the air your breathe and potentially contaminate the water you use on a daily basis.

7. WHO WOULD THIS PROPOSED LANDFILL SITE EFFECT? Students (you!) Would you want a landfill site located near you?

8. Your Parents How would your parents react to having a landfill site situated near them? Their children? Their home?

9. Land Owners and Residents of the Area Do you think that having a landfill site in your backyard would increase the value of your home/property?

10. Restaurants and Pubs Would having a landfill site located close by benefit them at all? Think about all the garbage that they produce on a daily basis and the cost of shipping all of that garbage to a landfill that’s located farther away. Do any of your families work in the food industry?

11. Shops and Shop Owners How would a landfill site right next to their place of business affect their sales? Would customers continue to shop there if it smelled like garbage all the time? Would you want spend your free time shopping at a place that smelled like garbage? Do any of your parents or family members own a store? How would they feel if this happened to them?

12. Environmentalists Would an environmentalist approve of a new, unsustainable landfill site? Do any of you have family members who work in the Ministry for the Environment?

13. A Recycling Plant How might the people at a recycling plant react or feel when told about the new landfill site? Do any of you have family members who work with in recycling?

14. Review: What is a landfill? • Landfill sites, also known as dumps and historically known as middens, are used to dispose of waste materials by burying them underground. • Landfill technology is the oldest form of waste treatment.

15. There are three steps in the waste disposal process at landfill sites… • Waste is confined to a small area • Waste is compacted to reduce its volume • Waste is covered on a daily basis with layers of contaminated soil

16. Liners are utilized to seal the bottom, top, and middle sections of a landfill site. This is an attempt to prevent the soil both underneath and surrounding the landfill site from becoming contaminated due to the waste material.

17. Image of a Typical Landfill Site

18. Negative Impacts of Landfills • There are many negative impacts that can be attributed to landfill sites. • For example, pollution of the groundwater and soil contamination due to leachate, a toxic liquid that accumulates at the bottom of waste pile. • Leachate is formed mostly through rainwater seeping into the pile of waste, collecting the toxins of decomposing materials, and sinking to the bottom of the garbage pile (like we saw in the clip).

19. Another negative impact is air pollution due to off gassing the discharge of the greenhouse gas methane, which forms as a result of decaying biotic material. • Methane gas is extremely dangerous and quite toxic for both humans and animals. It can be deadly if inhaled.

20. Noise pollution is another adverse side effect of landfills. Unwanted noise is caused by the constant flux of incoming and outgoing garbage trucks as well as the bull dozers and machinery which are used to compact the waste. • Additionally, the general odour of landfill sites it very off-putting.

21. Many landfills, after being fully closed and covered over with a final layer of dirt are being given back to nature. Do you think that this is okay? Other times landfill sites are covered over then sold to land developers who will turn the site into a residential or commercial areas. How would you feel shopping, eating, or even living over a decomposing pile of garbage?

22. What about Radioactive Material and Medical Waste? Can bio-hazardous material be buried with the rest of our material waste? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Medical Waste and Radioactive Materials must be buried using a deep-well injectionsite. It is important for the well to be dug well below the water table to avoid and form of leakage. Therefore, contaminated materials need to be contained separately from the rest of our waste. See p.280 of textbook, Figure 1 – illustrates an example of deep-well injection.

23. In Canada, landfill sites are regulated by provincial environmental agencies and environmental protection acts (EPA).

24. Homework Complete the Questionnaire. Answer all of the questions on the sheet. Include your first and last name as well as your homeroom. This questionnaire is to be filled out and brought back for next class. You can also ask your parents for their opinions while completing this sheet.

25. For the Remainder of the period… • Fill in the “W” and “L” of your KWL sheet. • You will list 2-3 things you learned during this class and also 2-3 things you still want to learn regarding landfills or something that you want to know more about. • If you complete this task before the bell rings please start to work on your homework assignment – the questionnaire (due next class, I will be checking!)