Mining Our Landfills for Energy

The economics of exploring our landfills for untapped energy and recyclable materials is gathering serious attention by many different companies and individuals as the need for saving and salvaging usable items enables us to save money and resources. The most valuable material in the landfills happens to be the cans made from aluminum, such as beverage cans. Actually, the process of mining landfills was started in the early 1950’s and has been growing since that time and by unearthing the resources that are buried inside is like digging for treasure; only instead of jewels and coins, we are finding metal and reusable plastics which can be melted down and remade into new less costly items for our daily life.
The landfills or dumps that are most often reworked are located near the old mining camps that dot the mountainous ghost towns of the United States and other countries. One example of this is in the southwestern part of Colorado, where the miners of the 1800’s were looking primarily for silver as the richest mineral around. A few years later, after the price of silver dropped below the basement levels, the enterprising miners reworked the dumps, looking for gold, resulting in the boom of mining in the San Juan Mountains as several million dollars were recovered and mined from the Camp Bird Mine.
Landfills containing Modest House Plans materials can be reclaimed for wood, concrete and metals that can burned or used as fill to build up low lying areas whereas the metal can be melted and reused. After the useful items are removed, there is room for more waste products. This form of landfill mining is the easiest and cheapest method of reclaiming materials. The older landfills pose more of problem because of the biomedical waste and the risk of the materials leaking through the soil into the underground water supply if the salvage company is not careful in excavating the landfill.
When mining for landfill treasures, it is a good idea to be careful as there is danger of becoming hurt or trapped under the trash piles. The professionals have specialized equipment that they use to reclaim the items for recycling so they will do so in a safe manner. The safest way to recycle is to save the materials and sort before they get to the landfill, even before they leave your home. Separate the plastic bottles from the glass ones and the paper from Profit And Attendance Percentage cardboard. This will greatly reduce the amount of trash you accumulate; many towns have recycling programs and information can be found on the city website as to when the collection day is for your area. This service is usually connected with the water, sewer, dumpster rental and trash department of the city or town you live in; if you live outside of the town limits, then the policies may be different as to the regulations for handling household waste.