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To contact us:
Phone:
815-753-0352
Fax:
815-753-6290

3R Program Physical Plant Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115

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Landfill Facts


  • From 1991 to 1995, the number of landfills has declined by 49%. That is 2,833 less landfills in the U.S.
  • We dump most of the magazines printed in the U.S. each year (about 8 million tons) into landfills. If we recycled just half of them, we could save over 12 million cubic yards of landfill space.
  • More than two-thirds of the material going into landfills is degradable. However, very little change occurs because moisture is the most important environmental variable of degradation. Landfills are kept as dry as possible to help prevent groundwater contamination from runoff. For example, newspapers are still readable more than 20 years after being thrown away. Food, such as T-bone steaks and hot dogs, remain relatively unchanged for more than a decade.
  • In 1993, 207 million tons of garbage were generated in the U.S. That's 4.4 pounds per person per day. After recycling and composting, 3.4 pounds of garbage per person per day was combusted or sent to landfills.
  • The Environmental Protection Agency projects that per capita generation of solid waste will decrease by the year 2000 from 4.4 pounds per person day to 4.3 pounds.
  • Between 1990 and 1993, materials recovered for recycling and composting in the U.S., increased from 38 million tons to 45 million tons, an increase of 18%.
  • In 1985, 83% of our garbage was landfilled, in 1993, this figure dropped to 62%. Even with this reduction, landfilling continues to be the single most predominant waste management method reaching into the year 2000.
  • More than 15 million tons of waste destined for landfills had to cross a state line to get there. This may change dramatically depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court resolves its upcoming flow control cases. At least 27 states currently have flow control laws.
  • Leachate is the toxic fluid that is created when rainwater dissolved chemicals from refuse.  It is a particular problem for landfills because without liners, the landfills can leak this liquid right into the water supply.
  • One acre, filled 3 meters deep, is needed for every ten thousand people each year.
  • In 1990, Illinois decreed that residents could no longer include landscape waste with their trash because of landfill issues.  Now, landscape is collected separately and composted.