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> Landfills are bad, and we should strive to have less of them, not more. They are not as bad as is generally thought. Landfills are essentially big compost pi
by oceanplexian 4y ago
> Landfills are bad, and we should strive to have less of them, not more.
They are not as bad as is generally thought. Landfills are essentially big compost piles, and the heat generated from decaying organic material breaks down almost everything, including most plastics. The few things that are left, such as metals, are actually valuable enough to extract in a lot of cases. The primary thing to worry about is lead contamination but this is less of an issue now that lead has been removed from most consumer products. Compare that to recycling, which is extremely energy intensive and has its own impacts on climate change, while landfills can actually generate a net positive amount of energy.
- silicon2401 4y ago> while landfills can actually generate a net positive amount of energy. Are you saying that yet another source of heat production, when we already have global warming going on, is a good thing?
- seiferteric 4y agoGW is not about human heat production, which is insignificant compared to the sun, it is only about GH gasses which trap a bit more heat from the sun which amounts to vastly more heat than humans produce.
- samatman 4y agoLandfills sequester carbon on the net, and release enough methane (at first) that it's practical to turn it into electricity. That compares favorably with any other pathway for waste. Reducing waste is good as well, this law is a silly way to do it.