What is a landfill site?

An area of land used to dump rubbish, either directly into a hole or directly on to the ground.Unwanted waste is left to disintegrate.There are different sites for different types of waste, eg hazardous, chemical, sanitary, general and inert. Landfill sites rely on natural biodegradation. The diagram below shows a cross section of a landfill site:

What actually happens at a landfill site?

How long does it take waste in a landfill site to breakdown?

• Cottonrags, 1-5 months
• Paper, 2-5 months
• Rope, 3-14 months
• Orange peels, 6 months
• Wool socks, 1 to 5 years
• Cigarette filters, 1 to 12 years
• Tetrapaks, (plastics composite) milk cartons, 5 years
• Leathershoes, 25 to 40 years
• Nylon fabric, 30 to 40 years
• Plastic bags, 10-20 years
• Plastic6-pack holder rings, 450 years
• Styrofoam cup,1-100 years
• Banana peel, 2-10 days