Sunday, April 4, 2010
Land fill

What is land fill?

A landfill, also known as a dump or rubbish dump (and historically as a midden), is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment. Historically, landfills have been the most common methods of organised waste disposal and remain so in many places around the world.

Pros & Cons
pros-
1. most wastes are biodegradeble
2. containment for our garbage

cons-
1. takes up space
2. poses as environmental threat
3. produces a lot of methane gas (which are harmful and dangerous to the environment)
4. contaminates and pollutes water bodies, killing marine life



In Singapore..

THE PULAU SEMAKAU LANDFILL is located to the eastern of Singapore.
In 1999, when the last remaining landfill on Singapore’s mainland was exhausted, the Semakau Landfill was created by enclosing Pulau Semakau and a small adjacent island (Pulau Sakeng) with a rock bund. All our waste now ends up at Semakau, i.e., ash from the incineration plants and all non-incinerable waste.
During the construction of the landfill, effort was made to protect the marine ecosystem, especially mangroves and corals. 13 hectares of mangrove were replanted to replace those removed during construction of the bund. Wildlife continues to thrive on Pulau Semakau, and the air and water quality remains good.
On 16 Jul 05, Pulau Semakau was opened for nature-related recreational activities. Members of the public can now visit the island for birdwatching, sports fishing and intertidal walks.



In other countries like malaysia, open dumping is practiced and takes place at about 50% of the total landfill. However, Singapore makes a conscious effort to keep waste contained, so that it will not pollute water bodies.