Are you here to learn more about landfills near me? Then you’ve come to the right spot at the right time.

This article discusses the types of dumps and how they operate. We’ll also enlighten you on accepted and banned materials, an alternative to waste disposal, and more.

Trash Dumps Near Me

For ages, landfills have been the most common form of waste disposal. The system involves burying waste with daily, intermediate, and final covers.

This is to extend the life of the usable land. During the disposal process, many precautions are taken to prevent waste materials from reaching and contaminating underground water.

How Landfills Operate

Most dumping grounds are well-managed by expert operators. They meet predefined specifications for nonhazardous waste by applying techniques to compact waste.

While in the facility, these operators will weigh waste collection on arrival. Afterward, they’ll use compactors and bulldozers to spread and compact deposited waste materials.

Before the collection vehicles leave the landfill site, they’ll pass through a wheel-cleaning facility. Sometimes, they’ll return to the weighbridge for re-weighing without loads.

The idea is to know the daily incoming waste tonnage. However, dump personnel may also inspect junks that do not meet dump acceptance-waste criteria.

Types of Landfills

They’re about six types of dumping grounds.

They are municipal solid waste, sanitary, industrial, construction, and demolition waste, hazardous waste, and managed landfills.

Allow us to take a look at a few of these facilities individually.

  • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfill

MSW is often situated in an isolated area far from the neighborhood and commercial districts. They obtain their waste from institutions, commercial, and residential sources.

Furthermore, they accept other nonhazardous waste such as non-toxic sludge, commercial solids, and a small amount of generator waste.

  • Sanitary Dumps

Have you ever encountered a pit with a protected bottom that uses clay liner for trash isolation? If yes, it means you’ve seen a sanitary dump before.

The garbage is buried in layers and compressed to make it solid. Most sanitary landfills use technology to hold their waste and prevent them from discharging toxic substances into the surrounding.

  • Construction and Demolition Dumping Ground

You can also call it a C&D garbage site. This dump accommodates waste generated during renovations, construction, and demolition of bridges and buildings.

Compared to other scrap yards, they only accept hazardous substances or industrial waste once it meets specific standards. In other cases, they’ll need permission to receive such waste.

Meanwhile, you can dispose of a few construction waste materials like bricks, gypsum, glass wood, and metals. Additional items include asphalt, plastics, stumps, trees, earth, plumbing, rocks, etc.

  • Hazardous Waste

This facility is suitable for you if you have hazardous waste to dispose of. As their name implies, they deal with various toxic substances such as batteries, paint, #5 and #6 plastics, and more.

Most hazardous waste landfills are under stick regulation and inspection. The idea is to ensure they don’t discard toxic materials into the surrounding.

Furthermore, the most hazardous waste contains runoff control, double liner, and league detection technology.

What About Private and Public Dumps

Besides the above-listed classes of dumping grounds, we also have private and public dumps.

Each of this landfill has its unique characteristics. For a better understanding, let’s quickly review these categories of garbage sites.

  • Private Dump Site

Virtually all the private landfills operate under contract. They are often contracted by demolition and disposal companies.

However, they can sometimes be hired by the state government to handle particular wastes. What sets private landfills apart from public dumps is their mode of ownership and price rates.

  • Public Landfills

Just like the salvage yard above, public landfills are handled by the county. But they’re often open to private trash removal services, businesses, and residents.

Before you walk around any public dump, you must present a county sticker. Additionally, your waste will be wight on a scale to determine how much you’ll pay for disposal.

From there, the scale house attendants inspect your waste to sort out banned materials. After you’re done, they’ll redirect you to an unloading area called the tipping face.

In the unloading house, your waste material will be weight again to determine how much weight is dropped off.

Materials You Shouldn’t Dump in Landfills

While dumps may accept certain materials in landfills, others do not.

Waste materials that landfill owners ban are often hazardous substances. Amongst them are batteries, polystyrene plastics, lead-based household cleaners, paint, pesticides, and more.

Since these items can harm the environment, experts best handle them. Most state laws require that toxic waste should be managed by contractors who can properly dispose of them.

Contractors could be private or public experts.

Some municipalities near me have separate sections where hazardous substances are taken for disposal. For instance, they have large tanks where they keep waste motor oil.

After that, they’ll send them to reprocessing facilities to be turned into new products.

Will I Pay A Gate or Tipping Fee?

Oh yes! You must pay a certain amount when visiting or dumping waste in landfills. But how much you’ll pay varies from one facility to the next.

The public dumping ground calls it a gate of tipping fee and costs a bit. Then privately owned dumps bill customers based on competitive rates, supply, and demand.

Moreover, your geographical location can also influence your bill. Landfills in the western part of the US charge less than those in the eastern region.

That’s because there are fewer garbage dumps in the east. Recycling News says the highest you can pay in the country’s northeastern part is $105 per ton.

Then the lowest you’ll pay is $18.43 per ton.

Other Uses of Landfills

Typically, dumps are used for waste management purposes such as temporary storage, transfer, and consolidation. You can also use it to process waste materials in various stages.

These include sorting, treatment, and recycling.

The concept of creating landfills is to keep the environment safe for habitation. As you can see, several landfills are collecting different materials. But we have alternatives if you don’t have any dumping ground near you.

Try waste to energy, composition, aerobic digestion, incineration, and more.