Landfills in Pennsylvania are regulated by the DEP or Department of Environmental Protection. There are several measures that Pennsylvania landfills have implemented that make the environment cleaner.
However, landfills will always be landfills, which means they will never be completely safe. In Pennsylvania, landfills are required to have a gas extraction system, which draws out and controls toxic landfill gas.
The gas extraction system prevents the gas from entering the water table and polluting the water supply. Such a gas extraction system also prevents the gas from building up and migrating to the surface. In addition, Pennsylvania landfills are required to have leachate systems in place. The leachate helps to control water inflow and outflow.
In reality, landfills will always harm the environment. They are useful for disposing of trash but should fully control the byproducts of landfills.
Pennsylvania’s landfills contain nearly 32 million tons of waste in them. There is both sanitary and hazardous waste buried there. The Hazardous Waste Landfills in the state were incepted in 1976, with 35 landfills. This is a huge burden on the environment, and the American people continue to face this problem.
These two agencies have collaborated extensively on a variety of projects to solve this waste management problem. One such project was in 1996, and the EPA had roped in state and local agencies to formulate a plan. In 1998, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a measure that states must bear half the cost of closing down landfills.
The state’s contribution is capped at $90 million, and the rest of the cost is borne by the counties where the landfills are located. These expenses have made it difficult for the state government to provide financial support. The problem is also compounded by the fact that many of the landfills are built on public land, which is now protected by law.
What Is The Stage Of Landfills In Pennsylvania
In the year 2018, Pennsylvania had a total of 644 active municipal solid waste landfills. The capacity of these landfills was 1,084,734 tons, the fourth-highest in the country. In 2021, these landfills had a total of 3,308,110 tons of waste, the most out of all the states in the country.
The municipal waste stream in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania consists of more than one million tons of trash every week. The amount of trash Pennsylvania residents discards each year is enough to fill more than 1,200,000 garbage trucks and covers 48,000 acres of land.
The Implications Of Landfills In Pennsylvania
Landfills contribute to global warming by producing gas causing global warming, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These all contribute to the greenhouse effect.
Methane, produced by rotting solid waste in landfills, is one of the most potent gas associated with global warming. Landfills also produce nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that has 296 times the heat-trapping capital.
The Pennsylvania landfill life-cycle is long because the state hosts hundreds of landfills. Landfills are created by communities that must manage their waste by collecting, recycling, and disposing of it.
Landfills are created during the construction of buildings, roads, and highways because they are the cheapest method available. However, landfills are usually out of date by the time they are closed and replaced because they can only operate from 20 to 50 years.
How will renting a dumpster help solve Pennsylvania’s problem with trash dumps
You can’t avoid this situation since the problem is getting worse. The government must find a solution, but it can’t do it alone. Everyone in the nation needs to do their part to find a solution.
The easiest way to properly dispose of waste is to rent a dumpster to transport waste in an organized manner. So, renting a dumpster from the best rental company will give you more confidence in your abilities if you want to clean up the environment.
Call a dumpster rental company near me right now if you want to help solve Pennsylvania’s landfill problem.
