What is a landfill site?
A landfill site is basically a disposal facility where waste is permanently buried, often in a cavity in the ground. When it is full it can be covered up and made to look like part of the landscape. They are usually located in former quarries and are licensed and regulated by the Environment Agency. England’s reliance on landfill reflects its geology and extraction industry history, which has made suitable landfill sites relatively abundant throughout the twentieth century. However this is changing and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find suitable areas for landfill sites. Today, it is quite a complex process. Landfill sites are carefully designed, well controlled and monitored for containment. The sites are lined with an impermeable layer of clay; then rubbish is tipped into the hole until it reaches the level of the surrounding ground. It is built into or on top of the ground and isolated from the surrounding environment (groundwater, air, rain) and covered daily by a l
