We’ve talked about recycling before on our blog, but here at Freshbinz Ltd it’s something we’re passionate about, so this time we’re talking about landfill, something that in the long term could affect us all.
In Europe alone, there are at least 500,000 landfill sites, and unfortunately, given the size of the UK, we have a larger than average number of these sites, 24,000 compared to Sweden’s 6,000.
Thankfully a percentage of these sites are what are known as “sanitary” landfills, which are equipped with state-of-the-art environmental protection and gas-collection systems. It means that environmental pollution and the release of greenhouse gas emissions can be avoided.
But these are comparatively few throughout the world mainly because the implementation is complicated and expensive, particularly in third world countries where they do not have the resources to change.
So, can anything be done apart from throwing away less? Surprisingly there is a thing called ‘landfill mining’ and you may be wondering what on earth anyone would want to mine from a landfill site full of stinking rubbish, well so did we. But Landfill mining is the process of excavating waste from landfills to reduce their environmental impact. It includes removing the hazardous material from the ground after a predefined period and treating it to recover recyclable materials, such as soil, and more valuable materials such as copper, zinc, or steel, and even the landfill space itself.
Here at Freshbinz Ltd, we like to say we learn something new every day, and we certainly have learned something new about waste, something to think about whilst we’re out cleaning your bins. It does seem there’s some hope for the future of landfills, but wouldn’t it be better if they weren’t necessary in the first place?
Once again we’re putting out thinking caps on and finding ways to reduce the waste we generate in our home and our business.