What are ways to reduce trash we dump in landfills?

By watering the garbage down?

Answer:

This question demonstrates the difficulty in arriving at a correct answer rather than an expedient answer for pollution problems. In the question the resolution of garbage problems creates air pollution problems. In the first answer the resolution of air problems creates water problems and so on.

Assume you're presented with the garbage problem for the first time. If the original question is: The garbage is piling up around town, what should we do?

The simple answer is haul it away and pile it somewhere. Out of sight out of mind!

The garbage festers, stinks, breeds clouds of flies and hordes of rats. So the answer is - set it on fire. Which generates smoke, more odour and hordes of rats (singed) fleeing into town. So - dump water on it to put out the fire, at which point the water flows into the town's water supply (aquifer or stream) and creates even more problems.

The wise town sanitary engineer should sit down with the original question and write down a list of garbage problems which he has to solve:

• We've got garbage
• Garbage attracts rats and breeds vermin no matter where it is
• Rotting garbage stinks
• Garbage catches fire or can be set on fire which creates smoke and the smell of toasting garbage
• Water going through garbage is like water through tea, a lot of stuff is dissolved out tainting other pure water

Having done this he sets out a list of suggestions that would address each part of the problems:

• Let's gather it up and haul it away - but remove the clean and useful stuff (e.g. metals) first to reduce the volume. This cuts our work and returns a profit.
• Let's bring it to a site where it can be separated from the groundwater like a nice clay lined pit.
• Let's control where garbage is put so the pit fills up in a systematic fashion.
• Let's compact the day's garbage each day and cover the day's garbage with a layer of impervious clay to stop water (rain) from getting to it, rats from living in it, fires from getting started and smells from escaping.
• If we do want to burn some of it (wood waste. paper etc.) let's do it in a proper incinerator to minimize smoke and smells and capture the heat to make steam or heat homes.
• When the pit is full, we'll build another. The old pit will be sealed off with clay then covered with topsoil to make a park. (Garbage disposal leads to urban betterment)

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When I first read the question, I thought you might be asking about how to get rid of a bad odor coming from your kitchen sink garbage disposal...just in case that was it, grinding small pieces orange or lemon peels can help, so can putting a little baking soda in the drain and then drizzle some vinegar in until you see it begin to foam...that will make it smell much better too. Rinse after the foaming action stops.