2. NORTH AMERICA
SOLID WASTE www.VeoliaES.com
Rolling Hills Landfill
• Why are landfills
necessary?
– Why do we have
landfills?
• What is a landfill?
– What are the parts
that make up a
landfill?
Rolling Hills Landfill, Buffalo – 2010
3. NORTH AMERICA
SOLID WASTE www.VeoliaES.com
Why are Landfills Necessary?
• Humans & our
relationship with
waste
- It might seem hard to
believe but in the not so
distant past, and still in
some parts of the world
today, people threw their
trash out of their windows
and into the streets.
Waste is also left in
ditches or open areas,
and burned in fields.
- In fact, throughout time,
people have made
garbage “go away” in
different ways, regardless
of any impacts on the
environment.
Hebron,
Israel -
2004
India
2010
4. NORTH AMERICA
SOLID WASTE www.VeoliaES.com
Why are Landfills Necessary?
• Humans & our
relationship
with waste
- When not properly
managed, these
activities can
create serious
sanitation
problems for
communities,
where odors, rats,
mice and other
pests spread
disease and
pollute drinking
water supplies.
5. NORTH AMERICA
SOLID WASTE www.VeoliaES.com
Why are Landfills Necessary?
• Humans & our
relationship with waste
- Americans generate trash at
an astonishing rate of 4.6
pounds each day per person,
which translates to 251
million tons in a year [source:
EPA].
-Today federal, state, and local
laws control how we
Americans dispose of our solid
waste. As a result of these
regulations, communities
have state-of-the-art landfills
that minimize groundwater
contamination and pollution.
At the same time, these laws
provide safe and convenient
ways to remove waste from
our communities.
Rolling Hills Landfill, Buffalo – 2010
6. NORTH AMERICA
SOLID WASTE www.VeoliaES.com
Why are Landfills Necessary?
• About Rolling Hills Landfill
- The Rolling Hills facility is
licensed to take industrial,
construction and demolition
wastes and contaminated
soils for disposal. The landfill
does not accept Municipal
Solid Waste (or household
waste).
- The landfill also serves as a
community drop-off site for
appliances and electronics for
third-party disposal and/or
recycling.
- Currently the landfill sits on a
little over 50 acres; the
company owns over 460
acres, some of which is used
for agricultural purposes.
- The highest part of the
landfill reaches a maximum
height of ____ft.
Rolling Hills Landfill, Buffalo – 2010
7. NORTH AMERICA
SOLID WASTE www.VeoliaES.com
What is a Landfill?
This picture shows the many layers of a landfill
Bottom
Liner
System
Landfill
Cell
Top
Layer
System
Methane
Collection
8. NORTH AMERICA
SOLID WASTE www.VeoliaES.com
What is a Landfill?
• Bottom Liner System
The bottom liner system
separates the landfill waste and
other materials from
groundwater and other soils.
The bottom liner system
includes:
– Clay liner has 2 ft. of clay at the
bottom of the liner system,
– Geomembrane liner,
– Leachate collection system, and
– 1 ft. of sand that is used as a
drainage system for leachate
Bottom
Liner
System
