The stinky elephant in the room.
Let's talk about landfill.
It's the "why" of iSEE Programs.
Australians produce about 50 million tonnes of waste every year, which works out at about 2 tonnes per person. Approximately 58% of that is recycled, leaving 42% of waste going to landfill.
That's 21 million tonnes of rotting, stinking rubbish every single year.
What happens to that rubbish once it reaches its destination?
Nothing.
Nothing happens to it. It stays there forever. Many people think "oh, I'll just throw this food waste in the bin and it'll rot down to nothing", but that's the thing - it doesn't.
Landfill is an anaerobic environment, which means there's no oxygen in there. So, the microbes you'd expect to find in a compost heap, happily munching away at your banana peel, apple core or newspaper, don't exist in landfill. Those happy little microbes can't survive without oxygen.
One day, while I was picking up escaped landfill around a site, I found a sheet of newspaper. It looked pristine, like it was printed just a few days ago. When I checked the date at the bottom of the page, it read 1934.
Compostable items putrefy in landfill instead, and with putrefaction comes methane.
Methane is about 70% more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.
It's also flammable and can explode if not properly managed.
I've been on a landfill during a spontaneous combustion event and believe me, it's not a good place to be. Fires can smoulder away under there for years, and if your earth moving equipment happens to uncover it, into a fiery pit of hell you may go, machine and all.
Of course, there will always be things that have to go to landfill. Because they're rubbish, and that's what we do with rubbish. It is what it is, I'm afraid.
So, once we've filled the landfill to capacity, what happens next?
Well.... Not much, really.
It all gets covered over with a thick layer of dirt and landscaped with grasses and shrubs to keep it all locked up and stable. Methane meters are installed to keep an eye on emissions and pumps work to manage the leachate - leachate is like bin juice X 1 million. It's a conglomeration of all the fluids produced during putrefaction and any rain that penetrates the soil. Prior to treatment, the stuff is lethal. It stinks like the death of a thousand souls and burns skin and clothing on contact. I've burnt holes through more pants than I care to mention. Leachate is usually treated onsite and used for plant irrigation, due to its high nutrient value.
And that's that.
"Can it be built on?" No, because over time the rubbish moves and subsides and the house would likely fall down. Besides that, the methane emitted would probably turn you into a dead-eyed creature of the night. Having said that, some landfills have been built on, following the primary settlement phase (20+ years). Burswood casino is built on an old landfill, for example.
"Can you put a community garden on it?" No, not really. The ground is contaminated. Would you want to eat a tomato grown from rubbish and leachate? No. No you wouldn't...... It would probably eat you, it'd be that toxic. Besides that, there's every chance you'll dig up something rather unsavoury, whilst tending your cabbages. You could, however, put no-dig garden beds on it...... Let's store that idea for later.
"Can we turn it into a sports field?" Possibly. Once compaction and stabilisation is complete, an old landfill could be repurposed for use as parkland, sports fields, even a golf course or a BMX track. You'd want to make sure there's a lot of cover material to work with, though. I've accidentally uncovered old rubbish and I don't recommend it. Think of every ugly word in the English language and string them together, and you still won't go anywhere near describing it. It's very nearly vomit-inducing, and I've worked with rubbish for over five years. It would destroy a mere mortal. Most landfills are large dome shaped heaps, so a fair bit of planning would have to go into making sure the land would be flat enough for sport.
So, that's the facts about landfills. What do you do with this largely depressing information I just gave you?
Much like the landfill, not a great deal.
No, you can't give it back. It's yours now.
Just take it and process it, and we'll meet up again soon to discuss what we can do to help, ok?
