6.+Research

__ Research __

Landfill Facts

A landfill is a huge hole that is fill by rubbish that gets buried. Once the landfill is full it is covered with soil. After a while, the land is used to build houses, golf courses, or parks. Landfills are stinky. They create methane gas.

Methane gas is smelly and dangerous and damages the environment. But it is also one of the "greenhouse gases". Greenhouse gases cause global warming because there are holes in the ozone layer.

There are two ways of dealing with methane gas. It can be burned off as waste. This is called "flaring" or used as a fuel. First, the gas gets sucked up from the ground with pipes and tested for its quality and quantity. If the gas passes the tests, it can be collected and used to make electricity.

The Four 'R' s

There are four main ways to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfill sites. They are sometimes called the four 'R' s.

refuse: to say "no!" to something that is not good. Example: I refuse the plastic bags when my mum put it in the recycling bin. reduce: to lower the amount of waste. Example: I will reduce my amount of rubbish by 40%. reuse: to use something again. Example: I can reuse my plastic bags when go to the supermarket. recycle: to reuse the materials and make into new items. Example: I can recycle milk containers.