Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Coming Up In The World

Here is our new "hill".
This is at the "Landfill". And it has been pretty well "Filled". What we are looking at used to be a rather large hole in the ground. As you can see, it is nothing like a hole now.
We thought we'd check up on the Garbage Business, and got The Fuzz to sneak his camera into the landfill. (These things used to be called dumps and were good places to find stuff and shoot rats.)
This is a view from up on top. At one time this spot was actually lower than that pond down there. The Fuzz made this picture from a truck while making a deposit. You can get some idea of the scale from the utility pole down there. Anyway, that's a lot of trash.
Some years ago, they built a Dog Pound on top of one of the older "Landfills". It didn't work out. After a while, one end of the building started to sink into the earth. Eventually, they had to tear it down and build a new one in a different place.
This is a look in another direction. You can see the trestle over there, in fact you could say "Down there". That pile of stuff in front is a bunch of well composted wood chips. They use these to dry out the mud so the trucks can get in (and get out) in wet weather. In dry weather it makes a nasty dust that clogs the truck radiators and makes them run hot. Sometimes, like today, they must be cleaned out twice a day.
The Fuzz wonders just how high this will be before it's over. Already there's a pretty good view from the top. Maybe someday it will be a tourist attraction, and a great boon to the pitiful local economy.

6 comments:

Woodie said...

we have an area of town that was built on an old landfill.. the buildings look like a fun house mirror, now. I think they are all empty or about to be because of the shifting earth... but we have a lot of car lots on that part of town, so maybe they can make a big parking lot and be done with it.... I like the mountain attraction idea... lol... did you see slum-dog millionaire where they kids are picking through what - in that movie - is definitely called a dump.

maria said...

HOLY MACKERAL!!! that hill is giant!...maybe a giant garbage fairy will come out, and make all the garbage diapear and leave money. Ya know, kinda like the tooth fairy...except not..really at all.. HAH :) it would be nice though huh. who do you supose would get that - maybe the North Carolina Government would take it all - saying that that Fairy didn't have a permit to do that...so, guess we'll just have to take all this money! - better luck next time garbage fairy!

The Lazy Iguana said...

When I go out in the boat, I can often see Mt. Trashmore. It looms over the mangroves of Biscayne National Park.

If I aim for Mt Trashmore I know I am also heading towards the Black Point Marina channel. I use it as a landmark to find the marina when I launch from it.

Jandi for The Fuzz said...

L- Never thought of using it as an aid to navigation.

Anonymous said...

Trash contains organic material (paper, food, and yard waste) that may be broken down (biodegraded) by microorganisms within the landfill. In the presence of oxygen, aerobic microorganisms break down the organic materials in the landfill, producing carbon dioxide and water. When the oxygen has been used up, the remaining components are degraded by anaerobic microorganisms. Landfills contain a complex community of anaerobic microorganisms, and each one contributes a step, or steps, to the degradation of refuse to produce methane, carbon dioxide, and water. The combination of gases formed during degradation is called landfill gas. The exact time needed to produce landfill gas depends on the specific conditions within each landfill.

The rate of microbial degradation of refuse is determined by the temperature within the landfill, the composition of the refuse, the presence of compounds toxic to microbial growth, and the availability of water. In most MSW landfills, degradation usually occurs very slowly due to the lack of water, taking place over several decades. In many landfills, only minimal degradation is observed, and the landfill, therefore, acts as a long-term storage site for refuse.

Water that was present in the refuse when the refuse was placed in the landfill, and any rain that enters the landfill during operation, passes through the landfill and absorbs organic compounds, metals, and ions (for example, nitrate and sulfate), from the refuse components. This liquid is referred to as landfill leachate. If leachate is allowed to escape from the landfill without treatment, it poses a potential risk to the environment and human health.

Physical and chemical reactions that occur within the landfill include the suspension and precipitation of some compounds into the leachate and the evaporation of organic compounds into landfill gas.

As a result of the chemical and biological degradation of refuse, some of the organic components in the refuse are transformed into landfill gas. These gases either leave the landfill by passive diffusion or are extracted by a gas collection system installed in many modern landfills. The production and release of these gases reduces the volume of the refuse in the landfill. The remaining refuse in the landfill settles, to fill in the pockets left behind by the degradation process.

We are having a serious issue in Ohio due to a fire in our landfill that is emitting toxic sulfur gases.

Jandi for The Fuzz said...

"We are having a serious issue in Ohio due to a fire in our landfill that is emitting toxic sulfur gases."

That stinks.
There's a lot of stuff in there that could be recycled. It's a pity.