Landfills: Why They’re Misunderstood and Better Than You Think

When you think of landfills, you may not have the most pleasant image in your mind. However, popular understanding of them is almost always out of line with the reality. They help us manage waste in ways that other methods just can’t. Here’s why they deserve a much better reputation.

A Management System
Perhaps the foremost benefit to landfills is that they provide us with a structured, regulated means to allocate and manage our waste. Landfill space is established in specific areas that are designated to keep the waste safely contained through a system focused on maximizing efficiency. Without good landfill management, and the legal monitoring of waste disposal that comes along with it, people would be able to deal with their waste in highly irresponsible and disorganized ways simply out of convenience. Having a legitimate system in place means that you’re in a state of order rather than chaos.

Skill & Procedure
Many of the criticisms that people have regarding landfills, whether they’re based in financial, environmental, or ethical concerns, really only apply to the landfills that are poorly managed and not staffed by the right workers. A landfill which is not skillful about how it contains and deals with its materials, or one that cuts corners in ways that compromise efficiency and safety, are of course worth taking to task. However, when done right, landfill practices provide an excellent solution for putting waste where it needs to go. A few bad apples should never be representative of the entire system itself!

Productive Benefits
Not only is the landfill not the monster that so many people make it out to be, but as a concept it offers a lot of potential for actively positive benefits. The best landfills follow through on this potential to the fullest extent. For instance, incineration of waste offers a great method for producing energy. Even some landfills in Europe sell their waste amongst one another to burn for energy, producing useful revenue. Once a landfill can no longer take in new waste, it can be reshaped into space to serve a number of different purposes, from parks to farmland. Once again, if you do a bit of homework, the advantages are clear.

From recycling to landfills, there are plenty of aspects of refuse management that are better understood when you take a deeper look and examine all of the factors at play. The team at Economy Waste understands this better than anyone in Calgary, so call (403) 888-5483 today!