The World’s five Largest Landfills

Do you know that the world’s largest landfill takes up 21,000,000 pounds of trash every day?

This article describes 5 of the world’s largest landfills

With the recent occurrence of Lassa fever in the country it is expedient that we look at one major factor that breeds rats. Landfills and dumpsites are one major breeding place for dreadful rats. It is a safe haven for all manner of rodents. In landfills you will find rats everywhere. Therefore it becomes a problem when landfills are situated in residential areas. There are some neighbourhood in Nigeria that have turned their immediate environment to landfills, dunghills and a repertoire of refuse dump talk-less of what is obtainable in the Olusosun landfill

Landfills seem to be necessary evils, a plague upon humanity for which we have no antidote, treatment, immunization or cure. So what does a city, state, nation, world do about this issue?

Here are the 5 largest landfills in the world. Surprisingly our own Olusosun landfill- a 100-acre dump in Lagos that receives close to 10,000 tons of rubbish each day sits on the number 5 spot on this list

1. Bonde Poniente Landfill, Mexico City.

It was the world’s largest open-air garbage dump, being closed by the Federal District Government of Mexico in December 2011, although its future is uncertain.

Read also: OLUSOSUN:The Looming Environmental Disaster

 

2. Sudokwon Landfill,  Incheon, South Korea

Sudokwon collects domestic and commercial trash (municipal solid waste) from the Seoul and Incheon metropolitan area. Site managers collect landfill gas to generate electricity.

3. Puente Hills Landfill, Los Angeles, United States

This is the largest landfill in the United States, rising 500 feet high (150 meters) and covering 700 acres (2.8 km square). Puente Hills accepted four million tons of waste in 2005. As of October 31, 2013, its operating permit has been terminated and it no longer accepts new refuse.

The landfill is located in the Puente Hills, in southeastern Los Angeles County, near Whittier, California and is owned and operated by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. The closest urban communities are unincorporated Hacienda Heights to the east, and unincorporated Avocado Heights and the City of Industry to the north.

4. Laogang Landfill, China

Laogang is home to China and Asia’s largest landfill, operational since 1989. Laogang landfill currently serves as Shanghai’s main disposal site for municipal solid waste (MSW), accepting between 8,000-10,000 tons of trash daily from 11 of Shanghai’s districts.

5. Olusosun Landfill, Lagos

Although there are landfills across Nigeria there is one that stands out and that is indisputably “The Olusosun landfill” which is a vast area teeming with waste. Olusosun landfill is the busiest dump in black Africa.

The Olusosun dump-site is the deposit of the greatest chunk of household and industrial wastes generated in Lagos, the ‘commercial capital’ of Nigeria boasting a staggering population of 21 million people. The landfill is a 100-acre dump in Lagos that receives close to 10,000 tons of rubbish each day

I think it’s fair to say that most of us would like to see the obvious problems disappear. But the sad fact is, we have to put our garbage someplace, right? And no matter how much recycling we do, there will always be a lot of trash going to “The Dump.” But does it have to be this way?

How do we reduce the amount of trash we as individuals produce? Feel free to share your ideas via the comment box.