Municipal solid waste refers to all categories of solid waste domestically or commercially generated and is often collected by local government bodies. Examples of municipal solid waste include food scraps, used newspapers, spoilt appliances, and packing products. A few decades ago before the revolution of industrialization, domestic waste and agricultural residue were the main components of solid waste. Since they were biodegradable in nature, the waste was disposed of off in the countryside on open grounds or in pits that were covered with earth layers (Lehmann, 2007). That method of solid waste disposal in the countryside was made possible by the fact that the population back then was less and there were plenty of free lands. However, due to the insurgence of industrialization, waste disposal methods have since changed because of not only the change in quantity but also in the quality of the components in the solid waste which are toxic and hazardous. Open dumps are illegal waste disposal sites where abandoned piles of solid waste or garbage are left in noticeable quantity thus causing environmental discomfort. Apart from destroying the aesthetic value of the land, open dumps have many other adverse impacts on the environment which among them includes contamination of groundwater through the seepage of the contaminants found in the dumped solid waste. Apart from contaminating the groundwater, rainwater can also carry pollutants to the rivers and lakes that provide habitat for some wildlife and also are the primary source of drinking water (Lehmann, 2007). Air pollution is also another adverse effect that open dumps cause on the environment that can translate to causing chronic diseases to people around the dumping site. Landfills differ from open dumps because unlike the open dump which would contaminate the groundwater through the seepage of the contaminants, landfills collect leachate which is a water contaminator, and drain it through pipes for processing. In the early landfill, wastes were buried with several layers of soil at cheap but convenient land and there were not properly managed. There were no rules that regulated the quantity, quality, and chemical composition of the waste (Schmoll, 2006). This led to various problems such as contamination of the groundwater which is was a result of leachate produced by the waste, air pollution, and destruction of aesthetic value as well as the spread of diseases that were as a consequence of the incomplete decomposition and settling of the solid waste and production of the methane gas. In the modern days, there are strict environmental standards that oversee the construction and operation of landfills that include the placement of liners to avoid contamination of groundwater. Unlike the early landfills, modern landfills have protective coatings that protect the underground water from being contaminated by leachate (Schmoll, 2006). The modern landfills pipe the leachate and the methane gas produced by the solid waste, unlike the early landfills. The construction of the solar energy plant at the Tessman Road landfill is an excellent innovation that protects the environment. The gas produced during the decomposition of the waste which is otherwise harmful to the environment is trapped for the production of electricity. The capping of some portions of the landfill for the collection of solar energy for conversion into electricity makes the landfill more productive. The geomembrane cover system that serves as a mounting surface for the solar system is anchored directly to the Tessman Landfill thus minimizing the soil erosion that would be caused by the landfill. The existence of the innovation makes the land covered by the landfill useful while in an ordinary circumstance the area covered by the landfill is considered useless.
References
Lehmann, E. C. (2007). Landfill research focus. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Schmoll, O. (2006). Protecting groundwater for health: Managing the quality of drinking-water sources. Cornwall, U.K: World Health Organization.
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