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One Landfill's Trash is the Future's Treasure

Building Tomorrow

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Reducing, Reuse, Recycle

In response to public worries about the trash problem, congress created new rules for land films. The sponsors who paid for it were several of america's biggest packaging and soft drink companies. A modern land fill only bears a passing re blance to the dumps of yesterday. It begins with an impermeable clay or plastic liner to prevent ground water contamination. Organic decomposition produces methane, a major global warming emission that traps roughly 25 times more heat than c o two. But guess what? Doesn't contribute to either of those problems underground. Plastic is chemically inert underground. It doesn't degrade into lechate. It just sits there. And when they close a land fill, they seal it

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