Do things de-compose in landfill?
Answer:
It very much depends on the substance or material. Organic matter will decompose by what is called anaerobic digestion. Plastics will not, unless they are contain a special plasticize agent that breaks down under no light conditions. Other materials such as fabrics containing basically cotton will in time. In fact most man made products are not biodegradable unless designed to do so. Metals that are classified as non-magnetic are unlikely to break down, whereas magnetic minerals can in time become oxidized. The rate of oxidization will depend upon the acidic levels of the site in question.
The net result is going to be the further down you go the more decomposition occurs, because of the pressure and gas exchanges from methane production. In some cases the methane will react with some plastics and accelerate the breakdown.
Most responsible waste disposal authorities incorporate gas control methods to avoid such incidents as explosions or flaming. It is quite a complex subject and usually requires specialists qualified in chemistry and other subjects to manage these landfills.
They decompose slowly. Things are buried deep and deprived of oxygen needed for decomposition. A landfill is a larger version of a home compost heap. To maximize decomposition, you need to mix in organic matter, and occasionally mix. If you don't do that, it will not decompose as fast.
I would not recommend digging around in a landfill. (at least not ones similar to what I have seen). They can be dangerous. There can be empty spaces below you that can cave in, there is danger of methane and disease is always present.
Things which are bio-degradable will de-compose, cans are not so wont! but the smell of a dump is really bad so I wouldn't recommend trying to find cans on one, also you never knopw what might be lurking in the rubbish! there will also be a certain amount of damage to items as it's not exactly treated with care! after all it is rubbish!
This is a very good question - I am sure there is one enormous recycling opportunity ready and waiting!
some are some are not , they run the stuff over with tractors to compact it. glad you brought this up though they do decompose and the city's who are letting land developers build on covered over landfills are doing the people a big disservice cause allot of the stuff in that do decompose , and that is gonna start causing the houses there to start sinking and a whole slew of lawsuits are gonna start being filled by homeowners in 50 or so years.
don't by houses on old landfills not a safe ideal
i know that's not part of your question but it is a serious problem just waiting to happen.
Yes, but at different rates of decay. Some things like organic materials last for a very short period of time but other items like cans take hundreds of years to fully return to the elements that they were composed of. Some items will be around for millennia as they are man made items like Styrofoam and some may never decompose if not exposed to oxygen.
Do i get you right ,it is not the decomposition you are worried about , on the contrary you would like to know if there are recyclable objects that can be fished out ?Two important matters need considering,landfills are made, as the name suggests to fill space ,the materials used are there to stay,at least for a very long time,biodegradables may break down but will take ages to do so.Heavy compacting of the landfill is bound to result in misshapen objects.
The second & logical consideration is that it is a very irresponsible & dangerous task to fish around in a landfill,frought with many dangers,so best not even to give it a thought.
I believe in time ,with ultimate pressure these items will be tomorrows resouces .
You never know they could be tomorrows GEMS.
everything will de-compose but it depends on what it is, for example glass can take a million years to de-compose, thats why it is a pretty good idea to recycle it. so it depends on what the material is for how long will take to de-compose.
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