It's up to you to look after your environment for the future and being aware of rubbish and recycling is a very important part of that.
At the moment in Wealden we are recycling and composting 30% (one third) of our rubbish.
But this still means that 70% Is being sent to landfill sites - huge holes in the ground, many of which used to be quarries. All of our rubbish that we throw away ends up here and is simply buried in the ground.
Landfill sites
Landfill sites are very bad for the environment and are not the best way of dealing with our rubbish. Because of all the rotting rubbish, the sites produce a nasty gas called Methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas which is linked to global warming. Landfill sites also produce a toxic liquid called Leachate. This is produced when rainwater drains through the rubbish, picking up chemicals, metals and other nasty stuff. It then leaks out of the landfill site in as a thick brown liquid which has to be removed from the site and treated. If the Leachate escapes from the landfill site it can pollute water and rivers, killing wildlife and fish.
We have two landfill sites in East Sussex, one near Hastings and the other near Lewes. The problem is that both of these sites are going to be full in about five years time! Then we won't have anywhere to put our rubbish! We need to act now to stop sending so much rubbish to these landfill sites by finding more environmentally friendly things to do with it.like recycling!
How things have changed
Compared to 50 years ago, our rubbish is made up of more products that don't break down in the ground. For example, glass bottles take 1 million years to break down, plastic bags take 10-20 years and aluminium cans take up to 100 years! A lot of what we throw away could be useful and could be reused or recycled - such as glass, metal, paper, cardboard and plastic.
