How Do Landfills Affect The Environment?

Where would you expect to find the greatest concentration of leachate?

• at the bottom of the landfill

• at the top of the landfill

• throughout the landfill

• leachate is not created in a landfill

As rain falls on a landfill, it sinks through the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW = garbage), picking up pesticides, heavy metals and organic compounds. This liquid is called

• leachate

• methane

• garbage soup

• liners

Sanitary landfills have __________ to prevent leachate from getting into groundwater. (CLICK ALL THAT APPLY!)

• liners

• collection systems

• daily layers of soil

• garbage

Bacteria in landfills perform anaerobic respiration as they decompose materials very slowly. This process creates

• methane

• leachate

• CO2

• oxygen

In a landfill, MSW is covered with soil every day to reduce the impact of

• rats, seagulls and smells

• methane, leachate and litter

• leachate, rats and groundwater pollution

• surface water pollution and air pollution

Some landfills (including Houston's biggest!) capture ______ to create electricity.

• methane

• leachate

• garbage

• CO2

• paper and organics

When a landfill closes, it can be capped with soil and used for a variety of purposes. Which of these can be built on top of a landfill? CLICK ALL THAT APPLY!!!

• wind farms and solar farms

• parks and wildlife habitat

• golf courses

• schools

• homes

Why is decomposition in a landfill anaerobic?

• daily compaction of garbage reduces the amount of O2 available to decomposers

• leachate reacts with O2, converting it to CO2

• methane reacts with O2, converting it to CO2

• liners at the bottom of the landfill prevent O2 from getting to the garbage

Which soil is best to have under a landfill?

• sand

• silt

• clay

• loam

The threat to an aquifer from a landfill would be determined by considering:

• soil type, bedrock type, aquifer depth

• slope of land and aquifer depth

• only aquifer depth

• soil depth, aquifer depth, bedrock depth