Waste Management in the UK-Recent Developements

Q1. The two reasons why the amont of rubbish in UK has become a major issue is because of 2 points'
1. Over-consumption
2. Excessive disposal
As a result of the increasing wealth in the MEDCs, coupled with rapid advancements in technology, it has made people more prone to throwing precious materials away without reconsidering. For example, rather then repairing old electrical goods, people would rather buy the latest models because of the convenience and cheaper prices. Resulting in non-renewable sources which could be reused or recycled, for example metal, to be thrown away.
The geology of the UK (UK has many large holes which could act as landfills) has also contributed to our habits of excessive disposal. However, these landfills are diminisig and so must the disposal of waste generated by humans.

Q2. Though these landfills has ben constructed to meet high safety standards, they also run a high risk of leaking chemicals, heavy metals and bacteria into the soil and water table. Also, organic waste would break down or decompose into leachate, which is a high poisonous liquid. All these are the possible occurings can could pollute the nearby rivers.

Q3. The main gases produced by a landfill site are methane and carbon dioxide. Methane is a gas that can be burned easily. If a landfill is covered after use, this gas will slowly seep through the earth covering and dissipate into the atmosphere, causing a long-term source of pollution and possible irritation for the local population. Until the landfill site has settled and the gas production has died down there is no way of reclaiming the land for building purposes, although the planting of trees and grass is possible in the interim. The production of gas will probably continue for around 20 to 30 years in many cases from a landfill site, with a gradual reduction after about 10 years. Such figures will vary naturally, depending on the composition of the waste and the temperature in the area.
Adopted from: http://www.habmigern2003.info/biogas/Landfill-sites.html