blog post 4

           Once again we ventured out today to visit one of the typical places that our trash goes to; the Sycamore Ridge Landfill. I always knew that landfills were a necessary evil but one that should be actively avoided if possible but I never considered what it would be like at an actual landfill. Part of me always assumed that landfills would be poorly run and reminiscent of the horrid excuses for landfills that you see developing countries with no alternative. While I was pleased to see that the local landfill was in fact run relatively smoothly and how seriously they took code regulations.

            However, what disappointed me the most was the blasé attitude when Ed was asked about how seeing all of this trash affected his shopping habits and concern for the environment. I understand that trash is money to a landfill and that a landfill needs large constant volumes of trash to stay in business. Yet it seemed to me like there was no critical consideration as to what that would mean for the environment or the local community if the landfill was rapidly filled up. Should we even be trying to fill our landfills as quickly as possible? Doesn’t it make more sense to first try and sort out all the recyclables and compostable material so that there is more room for the waste that is inevitably destined for the landfill? How do we prevent our oceans from being trashed and destroying the entire marine ecosystems that could have unintended consequences? Many of these questions plagued me while watching Trashed at the house for which I had no real answers.

            Another thing that disturbed me was the sheer number of birds swarming the landfill as the workers kept dumping and flattening the waste. I don’t know in particular what bothered me about the birds but it just made me wonder how the birds’ health was affected by scavenging in an active landfill. Are the birds getting enough nutrients? Are the birds’ stomachs going to be filled with plastic like the iconic pictures in Trashed? What will happen to the bird populations once the landfill is closed? What was there before the landfill or what specifically attracts the birds? I don’t imagine I’ll find the answers to those questions but it still seems ridiculous to me to give up on an ecofriendly alternative to landfilling or incineration. While I don’t expect a magic solution to appear overnight or even within the next few years, but I do wish that there was some sort of general plan or option to repurpose the land after the landfill closes down. It worries me to think that large amounts of land are essentially unusable or inhabitable for decades afterwards once closed down. If we keep up our current rates of consumption and poor recycling rates, then I fear how much land communities will lose to landfills.