Landfills and Solid Waste Management

How Environmental Engineers work to Keep Mother Earth Healthy Some people just don’t make the connection – that keeping Mother Earth green benefits all of the world’s creatures and plant life. We human beings manufacture an incredible amount of waste – so much that it is impossible to safely process it all. Much of the pollution and decay we create comes from human waste and paper, garbage, and miscellaneous disposable, including soiled diapers.  Believe it or not, on average we each generate 4.3 pounds of waste per day, an increase per person of 1.6 pounds since 1960.  More than half of this waste consists of all the paper and rotten food we throw away. And according to noted environmental architect, Roger D. Muzia, 2% of the solid waste in America comes from diapers. Despite the vigorous efforts by a myriad of governmental agencies, non-profits and responsible corporations to promote recycling, we can’t seem to halt the steady flow of solid waste. We continue to generate an increasing amount of waste every decade Landfills/Solid Waste Management Landfills serve a critical role in minimizing the environmental impacts of solid wastes. The greenest and most efficient landfills are designed to effectively curb the emanation of greenhouse gas and take advantage of gas to energy possibilities. These properly managed landfills are actually able to promote safe solid waste, as well as a positive use of methane and carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, the high cost of adopting some of these measures limit our ability to apply all of our technological knowhow to efficient management of our landfills. The Role of Environmental Engineers in Creating Efficient Landfills Environmental engineers play a critical role in the planning, design and management of landfills. Typically an experienced environmental engineering firm such as HSA Golden will deploy highly capable engineers, geologists and scientists who work as a team to assist clients solve their environmental challenges. The responsibilities of such a dedicated team include: * Planning, designing and engineering landfills and recycling facilities * Managing greenhouse gases while generating energy from waste * Remediating soil and groundwater contamination from service stations and industrial facilities to Brownfields(1) sites and Superfund(2) sites * Perform due diligence work based on the completion of significant numbers of Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs). In fact, HSA Golden has completed thousands of ESAs through its 25 years as environmental engineers and consultants. * If necessary, provide expert witness services in support of environmental litigation. If your current and future projects involve landfill/solid waste management and you would like to receive a free quote from one of the nation’s leading environmental engineering firms, please call us at 407-649-5475, or visit the Contact page of this site. ———————– (1) According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Brownfields or Brownfield Site means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminants. (2) Superfund is the name that the EPA has given to the environmental program established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. It is also the name of the fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA statute, CERCLA overview). This law was enacted in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Times Beach in the 1970s. It allows the EPA to clean up such sites and to compel responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-lead cleanups.