In the United States, landfills are regulated by the state's environmental agency that establishes minimum guidelines; however, none of these standards may fall below those set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); such as was the case with the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island, which is claimed by many to not only be the world's largest landfill, but the world's largest manmade structure.
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The Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill, opened in Fresno, California in 1937, is considered to have been the first modern, sanitary landfill in the United States, innovating the techniques of trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of waste with soil. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark, underlining the significance of waste disposal in urban society.
Before the advent of modern landfills in America, most Americans lived in sparsely populated rural farming communities and most burned their garbage.
Due to environmental and safety concerns, burning garbage by civilians has been outlawed by most municipalities and can only be performed by landfill managers or people who have obtained permits from the municipality.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is a U.S. federal law that is designed to protect the public from harm caused by waste disposal. The EPA runs a Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), a voluntary assistance program that helps to reduce methane emissions from landfills by encouraging the recovery and use of landfill gas as an energy resource.[1]
As of 1993, U.S. landfills consist of 40% to 50% paper waste, 20% to 30% construction debris, and 1.4% disposable diapers.[2]
Poorly constructed and operated landfills persist with leachate breaks, uncovered trash, and unchecked banned hazardous compounds. Federal laws to protect the public in Sec. 4001, Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) [3] can be unenforceable by citizens without adequate legal funding. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) generally relies on the states to enforce their own operating permits and federal laws. If state agencies are not aggressive, violations can worsen, multiplying negative environmental impacts exponentially. There are some notable recorded violations in the U.S., such as for a landfill in Hawaii that was fined $2.8 million in 2006 for operating violations, but this is not common.[4] In Harford County, MD, the county municipal landfill has consistently operated in violation of its operating permit with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) for many years, as shown in citizen documentation and photos on a community Web site called Stop the Dump. In 2008, MDE officials found citizen documentation of poor conditions at the landfill to be credible and began steps toward a solution requiring legislation. Legislative solutions can be lengthy and may not necessarily guarantee state or federal enforcement.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) is a voluntary assistance program that helps to reduce methane emissions from landfills by encouraging the recovery and beneficial use of landfill gas (LFG) as an energy resource.[5]