A week ago I went on my second field trip, for BIO36 and lets just say it was a surprising one. We took a trip to the Badland's Sanitary Landfill (where most our trash goes). We got lucky on our visit because we got to see an expansion of the land fill taking place. So basically we got to see some of the engineering that goes behind our landfills to keep them from leaking contaminated water into our ground water. On top of that we got to see the actual depth and starting point of a landfill and how high the pile of trash actually becomes. We were standing on a giant hill of trash looking down at the preparation for another gigantic hill of trash. After seeing the expansion we took a small tour of their recycling center where their main goal was to divert trash from the landfill and recycle it also removing hazardous things from electronics and appliances. Separating metals, car tires, computers, and televisions all so that they could be recycled, keeping them from taking up space in the landfill. As we took the tour there was practically a constant traffic of trucks, big rigs full of trash, and in the background you could see the giant pile of trash being added to, and bulldozed with tractors. We then saw the Gas-to-Energy facility where methane from all the trash is collected and then converted into energy. The landfill actually puts power back into the grid, with the energy they produce!
All in all the amounts of trash were very unimaginable to me. It was shocking to see how much trash there was and how much was coming in. However at the same time it was somewhat reassuring seeing that the trash was being managed as best as it possibly can be. I was a great field trip and I learned a lot that day. Most people don't think about where their trash goes, but now I know(:
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