Summary

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Abstract
Visit your local landfill to collect dumping statistics by watching the types of trash people bring to the dump. Identify problem areas and types of waste that are commonly brought to the dump. Propose new uses for common landfill problems like tires, construction materials, plastics, appliances, and computer parts. Measure packaging materials of some common products. Invent ways to reduce the amount of packaging and increase the use of recyclable materials like popcorn or corn-based packing peanuts instead of synthetic packing peanuts. Study the benefit of urban re-use or invent ways for things to be re-used. Track your family's waste statistics by keeping count of the amount of waste and recyclables you produce over a day, month, or week. How much waste do you produce? Find out the population of your town, state, and country to estimate the total amount of waste generated each year! (NREL, 2006, EPA, 2006)Bibliography
- EPA, 2006. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. Retrieved March 1, 2006.
- NREL, 2006. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Innovation for Our Energy Future, Golden, CO: NREL, U.S. Dept. of Energy. Retrieved March 1, 2006.

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Global Connections
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
This project explores topics key to Responsible Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
This project explores topics key to Responsible Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Careers
If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:
Career Profile
Are you passionate about the environment? Do you like developing and implementing new ideas? Do you enjoy talking with people about how humans impact nature? If these things are true about you, then you may be the ideal candidate for a job as a sustainability specialist. Sustainability specialists work in large and small corporations and universities to design and execute energy and resource conservation programs that reduce their employers' impact on the environment. This is a great career for…
Career Profile
Every day, trash collectors across the nation haul our garbage (minus the recyclables) to a landfill. There, the garbage decomposes into gas and leachate. This sounds gross, but the good news is that the gas can be used to create electricity. Landfill gas-collection power plants harvest the methane gas from landfills, then burn it to generate electricity. These power plants need people to keep the equipment functioning properly. Methane gas generation systems technicians are responsible for…
Career Profile
You've probably heard the expression "build a better mousetrap." Industrial engineers are the people who figure out how to do things better. They find ways that are smarter, faster, safer, and easier, so that companies become more efficient, productive, and profitable, and employees have work environments that are safer and more rewarding. You might think from their name that industrial engineers just work for big manufacturing companies, but they are employed in a wide range of industries,…
Career Profile
Environmental engineers plan projects around their city or state—like municipal water systems, landfills, recycling centers, or sanitation facilities—that are essential to the health of the people who live there. Environmental engineers also work to minimize the impact of human developments, like new roads or dams, on environments and habitats, and they strive to improve the quality of our air, land, and water.
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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.MLA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
"Landfills." Science Buddies,
20 Nov. 2020,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/EnvSci_p036/environmental-science/landfills.
Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
APA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
(2020, November 20).
Landfills.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/EnvSci_p036/environmental-science/landfills
Last edit date: 2020-11-20
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