Essay Sample on Field Trip to Lycoming County Landfill

Introduction

The Lycoming Landfill is situated on the land of Federal Bureau of prisons, in the country of Lycoming and ion the borderlines of the Union County. The landfill is located 14 miles north of Lewisburg, 9 miles on the south of the city of Williamsport and 25 miles north of Sunbury. Lycoming Landfill mainly deals with the recycling of thrash from Lycoming, Snyder, Northumberland, Columbia, Montour, and Union counties. The landfill site started to be developed by the government from the year 1973 and occupies 179.9 acres. During the first year when the landfill started to operate it received 16,689 tons of solid waste. Currently, the landfill receives 1,100 tones each day whereby the allowed average per day is 1600-2000 tones. The landfill contains a total of 22 wells which are usually monitoring. Those particular wells tend to cover different landfills areas which include detection zones, leachate lagoons, water wells and underdrains.

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After the thrash has been thrown into the landfill, it is covered with rocks and dirt to accelerate the decomposition rate. After the thrash has decomposed, it is considered as being either leachate, gas or solid waste. The landfill collects the leachate which is usually at the bottom and then pumps it to the Water Treatment Plant of Montgomery. The Co-Generation plant of the landfill also captures the municipal waste to generate gases which are converted into energy to be used by the surrounding community and as well as in the landfill. The landfill gas is used in the operation of the boilers for heating. The gas mixture usually contains 50% carbon dioxide and 50% methane which usually contain some few traces of other gases. This helps the landfill to save on costs that could have been incurred. The energy generated at Lycoming landfill is around 2800 cubic feet per minute. Approximately 25% of the landfill gas is normally converted into electricity which is used to provide power to 1000 homes in that particular region. The Lycoming Landfill usually have a lagoon system which is double-lined. The double-lined lagoon system is usually used to ensure that there is no leakage into the lagoon from the municipal waste by trapping such kind of leakage. After the leachate fluid has been captured into the lagoon, it is then moved into the Montgomery Sewage Treatment plant.

What I liked about the landfill is that the management has set aside various locations where different types of waste are usually collected. I also liked the fact that most of the people in the Susquehanna Valley can easily access the landfill since it is located between the city of Sunbury and Williamsport. It is located in a strategic position considering that it is on a state road which is normally used a major route in Central Pennsylvania for transportation. Lycoming County collects recycling materials on curbside routes and drops off sites. I also liked the role played by the Lycoming Landfill towards helping the society through the production of the multiple gases which are then converted into energy. I also liked that the landfill has a sorting room whereby all the materials are sorted, and this ensures that the materials which are unacceptable are separated from the rest. What I didn't like about the Lycoming Landfill is the fact that after collecting the leachate to generate gases and energy the other waste is left there forever. The solid waste can be used for other purposes such as being given to the community as a form of manure for farming purpose since it has already decomposed. The smell from the landfill could also affect the health of the people living in that area. I learned that recycling and having a landfill in a given region is of great importance since it helps in ensuring that the environment is kept clean since the litter is taken to the landfill which is then decomposed resulting in the generation of multiple gases that are then converted into energy. The landfill also assists in the creation of employment in that particular region which improves the living conditions of people in that particular region. I also learnt through the creation of a landfill it assists in revenue generation. It also helps in conserving the land since dumping sites prohibits the proper usage of land. I also learned that it is crucial for every landfill to have a lagoon system due to the possibility of the groundwater being contaminated which could turn out to be a health hazard. When leachate is released into the environment, it could result in the drinking water being used by the surrounding communities getting contaminated whereby cleaning up could take a prolonged period.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the trip to Lycoming landfill helped me learn the importance of recycling of waste products from the environment. It helps in the creation of employment, conservation of the environment and generation of energy. The landfill gas-to-energy system is also beneficial as it also assists in the elimination of methane which is a greenhouse gas.