Although many of the landfill sites across the UK have closed down, some remain and are still big causes of concern for those with the environment in mind. The recent British approach to waste disposal and recycling as a nation has at last begun to see landfill sites being reduced in number and size. However, we and other nations still have a long way to go. Landfill sites are causing possibly unrepairable damage to the environment. Here are 3 of the largest landfill sites from across the globe.Â
Olusosun, Lagos State, NigeriaÂ
Covering 100 acres, the Olusosun landfill site in Lagos State, Nigeria is the largest in Africa. The site receives around 10000 tonnes of waste each day and waste from around 500 container ships is disposed of at the site. Despite its size and the dangers that are present on the landfill site, it’s home to a shanty town of around 1000 homes.
Approximately 5000 scavengers comb the landfill site, searching for items of value that they can sell. There was recently a fire on the landfill site which burnt for over 4 hours, destroying around 50 of the shanty houses. The recent fires temporarily closed the landfill site which was opened in 1992 and covers roughly the area of 61 football pitches.Â
Apex Regional, Las Vegas, United States of America
This landfill opened in 1993 and is now worth around $300 million. Dealing with about 9,000 tonnes of municipal waste every day, but being able to handle up to 15,000, it is the largest landfill site in the whole of the United States and covers roughly 2,200 acres. The site can hold 50 million tonnes of waste and has an expected lifetime of 250 years. Like many other landfills, the Apex Regional has a problem with methane gas. However, the site has a way to deal with this.
Every minute, 700 cubic feet of methane gas is released from the decomposing waste. It is then collected by a piping system and is then burnt to remove contaminants and keep pollution down. Unlike the other landfills, the base of the pits where waste is stored is lined with clay and a bin bag like covering to stop hazardous liquids escaping into the surroundings.
Laogang, Shanghai, China
This landfill site located just outside of Shanghai has an area of over 890 acres and at its highest point the waste piles up to 20 metres. It receives around 10,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily which is as much as half of the city’s total waste. The methane gas from the landfill has been converted to generate green energy that provides power to 100,000 homes.Â
It is one of the largest landfill sites in Asia, however in 2014 Veolia, the French company in charge of the landfill site, announced that methane emissions from the site had been reduced by 25,800 metric tonnes.Â
Our Waste Management
Here at WT Skip Hire, we take the disposal of the waste we collect in our skips very seriously, recycling 90% of the waste we collect. We take the waste we collect back to our recycling centre where we sort it into a number of set containers. These containers allow us to deal with the vast majority of the waste we collect and helps us produce our waste reports, which we can provide to all of our customers.Â
Have some waste that needs to be disposed of? We can help, call us on 01493 668118 or email us on info@wtskiphire.co.uk.
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