Now that you understand the basics of landfill covers and how the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates landfills, it’s worth exploring how landfill covers can help you.
You may be pleasantly surprised to find that making use of a landfill cover is actually equally beneficial to you, your business, the environment, and any residents living near your landfill. So, how can a temporary landfill cover really help you?
Keep Your Landfill Safe from Fires
In the past, fires have been a significant issue for landfills in the United States. During times of summer heat, strong winds, or droughts, fires can spread rapidly through landfills.
A fire needs three key ingredients in order to stay burning: heat, fuel, and oxygen. If any of these conditions are not readily available, the fire will die. A landfill cover ensures that any waste or trash that could encourage a fire to rage and burn is unable to be exposed to air or heat, therefore keeping the fire effectively at bay.
Keep Odors Away
One of the biggest issues associated with landfills is that so many have a tendency to generate powerful, and extremely unpleasant, odors. This is especially true when a landfill is located close to a town, city, or another residential area.
If local citizens issue complaints to officials in your area, you could risk decreasing property values in your region or creating a negative reputation. Thankfully, landfill covers can eradicate issues such as these.
At the end of every working day, the trash and waste that has accumulated in your landfill will be thoroughly covered. A good temporary landfill cover like ArmorCover works to suppress even the most potent odors. This will help improve your standing within your community in addition to promoting cleaner, healthier air for both human and environmental safety.
Keep Litter from Scattering
Whether you’re dealing with a severe windstorm or a gentle breeze, there is always the potential for litter and trash to get swept up into the air and blown away from your landfill. Unfortunately, this creates a major headache for landfill personnel to clean in addition to wasting time and money on an easily treatable issue.
In more severe cases, trash may have scattered far enough to land outside of the landfill entirely and wind up in nearby lakes, rivers, forests, streams, and other ecosystems. This can cause harm to local plant and animal life. Contaminated trash can poison animals or lead to choking.
Likewise, waste that has been contaminated with toxins or chemicals may find its way to a water supply or residential area. If the trash is contaminated, it can create serious health hazards. Even when it’s not contaminated, litter in an eyesore that detracts from the beauty of residential areas and forests alike.
By using a landfill cover, you are ensuring that you don’t have to deal with these time- consuming, reputation-harming, and potentially life-threatening issues. A properly installed, temporary landfill cover like ArmorCover ensures that any loose waste is kept firmly down, and that trash stays in the landfill where it belongs.
Keep Away Pests
Birds love to circle the skies above landfills in the hopes of finding something they can snack on. From owls to vultures, it can be frustrating for landfill workers to constantly cope with birds that swoop in and out of the waste. In many cases, these birds scatter trash when soaring in and create an even bigger mess. Add bird waste on top of that, and you have even more messes and unsanitary conditions to deal with.
Remember, birds aren’t the only scavengers that may take an interest in what your landfill has to offer. Critters and pests of all sizes – from coyotes to rodents – could be drawn to your landfill and start digging. Animals like rats can carry diseases, and larger scavengers such as coyotes could create safety hazards for those working in or near the landfill.
To effectively treat this issue, keep your landfill covered at all times with a solid, reliable, and puncture-resistant material such as a geomembrane liner.
Since landfill covers also suppress odors, birds and other scavengers won’t be attracted to your area from a distance. They will also be unable to easily access waste when they’re on site. This helps discourage unwanted visitors from frequenting your landfill and makes it more difficult for scavengers to find something to snack on at your site.
