Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with landfill

Destroy or Merely Throw Out?

aswego — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:49:41 -0800

Committing the great library sin...which of these is a better way to get rid of some books? My library is disposing of a large number of volumes, and is locked into a particular moving/storage/disposal company by our institutional parents. Our choices are "standard disposal" (basically tossing the volumes into a landfill) or "certified destruction (which seems to involve removing pages from spines and eventual incineration), which is a bit more expensive.

The company's only advertised reasons for the more expensive option are privacy and public relations. Our materials are not sensitive, so I don't think we have any privacy concerns. In addition, while it might be bad PR to have someone discover one of our books while roaming a landfill and then telling anyone they know how wasteful we are, I can't imagine it would be too likely.

The company doesn't make any claims that one method is more environmentally friendly than the other. Is there any reason I may be missing for choosing the destruction/incineration option?

Obviously I know there are other methods some libraries (including us in the past) use to get rid of books, but they don't seem to be an option this time. I'd hope the discussion wouldn't go that way.

Where can I find detailed statistics on the garbage sitting in landfills?

wandergeek — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:20:47 -0800

I'm looking for statistics on the types of garbage that's currently sitting in American landfills. Does anybody have any good resources for this? To be clear, I'm trying to find the percentage of paper, plastics, metal, etc as they contribute to the greater whole. Statistics from other countries are welcomed too.

Help me learn about man-made land

Xalf — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:58:54 -0800

I'm looking for books on how engineers turn water into land. For instance, big parts of Boston and Chicago are built on landfill and Dubai is creating some seriously crazy islands. I'm looking for a book that takes a general approach to discussing how this is done.

SpringCleanFilter: Help me get rid of old clothes when Goodwill won't take 'em

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:26:29 -0800

I have loads of old clothes I want to discard responsibly, but my local charities are quite picky about what they will accept. I'd rather not add to the landfill. Hope me! Now that I have married Mr. Psho, I need to get rid of loads of old clothes I have that either no longer fit, look silly, or just need to go to Clothes Heaven.

Now, here's the issue: when I wear clothes, I wear them unto death. I have t-shirts that are older than most of you, and are frayed and stained from, well, wear. My local charities seem only interested in clothing that have some resale value -- I don't have many clothes in that category. I also have old undies, socks that have broken elastic and holes -- no one wants those, surely? (I live in Oakland, CA.) I was excited a few years ago when I discovered those green GAIA bins, but I did some research and I really don't want to support something quite so... controversial.

So -- what can I do with my misfit clothes?

What household items should be kept out of the landfill?

Alison — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:50:20 -0800

What household items are hazardous to the environment when thrown away? I'm compiling a list of items that we should recycle or dispose of specially instead of tossing, like batteries and fluorescent light bulbs. Somewhere there has got to be a list of these items, but I am having a terrible time finding it through Google. So, a link to a list or suggestions for individual items would be great.

Bonus points are offered to anyone who can also tell us why something shouldn't end up in the trash.