Landfill Gasses

What are Landfill Gasses?

One of the biggest concerns with landfills is the gas that the organic material emits while decomposing. This “Landfill Gas” is made up of 90-98% methane and carbon dioxide, leaving the other 2-10% oxygen, nitrogen along with other various gasses. This gas can be created in three ways.  Bacterial decomposition is the most common; it takes place naturally from organic material and soil when in a landfill. The second likely cause for landfill gasses is Volatilization, this occurs when the compound turns into a gas vapor, this could be from certain chemicals and waste in the landfill. And finally the third type of landfill gas is from chemical reactions, which just as it sounds is from chemicals that have been disposed of. There are otherwise known as non-methane organic materials or NMOC.  Some common examples of these are bleach, cleaning products and paint. This is dangerous because of chemicals that are not meant to come in contact with one another, can, and will then let off dangerous gasses and reactions. Other factors that play a role in the creation of landfill gas include the type of waste, the temperature and climate of the location of the landfill, if any (or how much) chemical waste is involved, and moisture level. These can all take a toll on the process and timeframe of decomposing and the break down of these materials.

Are they harmful to us?

These gasses have not been a major danger to the public; however there have been studies and results showing negative results because of this gas. Short-term effects are commonly irritation to the face/eyes/throat, coughing and inflammation of the lungs and nausea. Where some long-term effects have more commonly been aggravation of asthma, lung and breathing difficulties, weight loss and insomnia. These studies were done over long periods of time in communities directly exposed to landfill gas. More general dangers associated with landfill gas is simply that it is made of primarily of methane which is highly flammable, and if in an environment of space that could become flammable, the gas can become an explosive mixture of chemicals.

Madison Connolly

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/landfill/html/ch2.html

http://www3.epa.gov/lmop/faq/landfill-gas.html

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Our Landfill Legacy: Portland Metropolitan Area Landfills Closed Since 1960 and their Impact on our Urban and Natural Environment This document compiles information about all known landfill sites in the Portland region closed since 1960. Research was based on published reports, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Clackamas County file reviews, archives from Metro and the City of Portland, and personal communications. Very little information existed for some sites. Information found was sometimes conflicting or there was no second source available to verify the details discovered. Therefore, descriptions about some sites may be incomplete or inaccurate. Metro would welcome additional information from anyone familiar with any of these sites (or additional sites meeting the criteria described), so it can be included in future updates to be published. Introduction The nature of the waste generated and disposed of in the Portland area has changed greatly over the years. Significant amounts of paper, metal, glass and plastic began to appear in a waste stream formerly dominated by food and ash. Regulated solid waste landfills, recycling, and reuse began to displace unrestricted disposal practices such as open dumping and burning. A solid waste landfill is a discrete area of land or an excavation where solid waste is buried. Such concentrations of waste may pose long-term risks to health, safety, and the environment, including but not limited to the following: • Landfill gas from decomposing organic waste contains methane, which under certain conditions may present a fire or explosion hazard, and non-methane organic compounds which may pose additional health risks; • Leachate, the liquid leached by water from buried solid waste, may pose risks to groundwater and surface water; • Some of the buried material (e.g., asbestos) poses health risks if excavated; • The structural integrity of buildings and infrastructure (e.g., sewers that have been built on former landfill sites) may be affected by differential settlement caused by decomposing wastes; • Underground fires sometimes occur in decomposing waste, causing the ground to subside, and potentially releasing air pollutants. Many of these potential problems are exacerbated in older landfills where lack of regulation often resulted in inadequate site selection, design, and operations (e.g., poor compaction of the waste, little or no cover material, and insufficient sloping for stormwater drainage). OUR LANDFILL LEGACY / Metro Solid Waste and Recycling Dept. / March 2004 2 Metro’s Solid Waste and Recycling Department mapped and collected basic information on those landfills in or near the Metro region that have closed since 1960. The purpose of this project is to provide information that may be useful in protecting public health, safety, and the environment, and may also be useful to the land use planning process.

Jim Dostert.

Article from Oregon Metro. gov

Who Cleans Up After Us?

When we are faced with an issue, one of the biggest barriers to caring about it is perspective. For many people, we are far too busy to go beyond the scope of what is happening in our immediate lives. Which is why many issues reach a state of "Out of sight, out of mind."

But garbage plays a prevalent role in everybody's lives, it plays such a constant role that for many people it simply isn't at the forefront of their minds. But not only that, garbage has become stigmatized in many different ways. And it's no surprise, something that can be smelly, unsightly, cumbersome, and take up a lot of space, garbage is as much of a nuisance as it gets when we're trying to go about our lives.

Garbage has been hiding in plain sight for so long that it is only noticed when it is hindering our lives. But thanks to the effort of many workers, it doesn't hinder our lives nearly as much as it could. That is what led to Robin Nagle to giving this 8-minute Ted talk called "What I discovered in New York City trash"

So as we dive deeper into landfills, think about the people who are working in that environment. We never hear about well managed landfills, but we do hear about them when they're badly managed.

Waste Management

Handling waste is an issue that deserves some spotlight. If waste is not handled properly, it can be detrimental to not only the environment but to people and animals as well. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to help reduce waste. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has outlined steps every individual can follow to reduce the amount of waste produced.

For example, in order to reduce waste at home a person can:

• ·         Learn to compost at home Use food scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic wastes to create a compost pile. Adding the created compost to soil increases water retention, decreases erosion, and keeps organic materials out of landfills.
• ·         Turn off or unplug lights during the day. Doing so will save energy and help your lights last longer. 
• ·         For cleaning chores, buy reusable mops, rags and sponges. When using cleaning products, use only the amount you need and follow the bottle’s directions for use and disposal. 

Those were just a few tips from the EPA’s website. Follow this link here to find out how you can reduce waste anywhere you go.

Portland and Future Waste Policies

Landfill management and waste disposal isn’t a topic that receives a lot of public or political attention. Big piles of waste aren’t attractive to talk about, and we pay money for this material to be moved far away from our urban area (and for good reason, landfills are naturally stinky). And while Portland’s superb recycling programs are helpful, the Metro recently reported at least a million tons of garbage is still being produced and sent to landfills from the Portland area. The recent rising trend in Portland’s population means of course, more waste, and Portland’s current waste removal contracts are set to expire in 2019. This could be an opportunity to improve and innovate Portland’s waste management, a chance to explore new options for waste management and diversify our waste management resources. This opportunity brings up potential for Portland to improve its already reputable status as an environmentally friendly city that works.

The city currently seems to be focusing on the option of incineration as a process of energy conversion. This would take place in a currently existing plant just north of Salem (Portland Tribune's coverage here). While I’m not completely opposed to the theoretical idea of waste to energy, I wonder if Portland could do better in exploring more options. Proponents of waste-to-energy incineration frequently cite Europe as a model, but Europe is both limited in options because of land scarcity. Also, European plants frequently use new, cleaner technologies that don’t produce the ash pollutant associated with traditional incineration plants. What the current proposals (and the lack of diversity in potential options) suggests to me is a shortcoming in environmental policy that, when enacted in long-term private contracts, can lock the city’s waste-management policy into an inefficient strategy for business reasons and hence failing to take advantage of potential innovations and more diverse mechanisms for dealing in the market of waste management. Learning from other cities innovations and keeping flexibility and open options in land management would be helpful, and allow waste management to adapt to current trends and needs of a rising population.

Food Waste and You

The abundance of wasted food (here, I’m thinking specifically within America) is produced by both super-retail shopping culture and the food service industry as well as individual (micro-level) waste produced by households. Food waste is estimated to be the 2^nd largest contribution to landfills, and food decomposition is the largest producer of methane gases (more facts here!). While the numbers can be overwhelming (30-40% of America’s food supply is wasted), there are basic strategies individuals can take to reduce food waste at home. So what can we as individuals do?

-Proper meal planning and storage is crucial. My experience in the food service industry has created a kind of OCD about food storage and prep. I find it helpful to prep my vegetables ahead of time, about 2-3 days’ worth (chop, slice, dice). And while I generally try and stay away from freezing, it is a helpful tool for extending food’s shelf life.

-Use leftovers, and if you aren’t a leftover person, find someone/something who is (don’t forget about any hungry pets).  Find a local food bank near you here.

-Compost- if you don’t have a city that composts, here’s a good introduction to back yard composting: http://www.homecompostingmadeeasy.com/foodscraps.html

The hope is to divert food scraps from landfills. These individual actions are necessary not only to do they potentially reduce waste, but also because these individual actions accumulate into the overall cultural whole that produces the social relations that contribute to waste. And when in doubt, you can always consult the food recovery hierarchy: