Stuff like recent plastic bag bans in several cities got me wondering.
I remember when landfill space and the amount of solid waste we produced was a huge concern, and one of the big impetuses behind the recycling push. These days, our focus on global climate change is in much sharper focus (perhaps a call back to ozone layer concerns), but how much of an issue are they today, especially compared to when it was first catching attention as a problem?
A big part of the problem (but not the only big part) was the surprising amount to toxic shit in all our garbage. Who knew that all our lives were spent aswim in such a pervasive pool of poisonous potions in all our household products? All of which end up being funneled to and concentrated in our landfills, there to remain potent for a hundred thousand years?
As landfills fill up, they are covered with layers of dirt each day, like garbage lasagne. When the entire landfill is full, they pile the remaining dirt on top of that, then build a park or freeway on top of that. Eventually, concerns arise about toxic stuff seeping out and making its way to the surface or into the groundwater.
That is one of the main problems I always seem to see every time it comes up in the news.
ETA: Example: Southern part of S. F. Bay Area, in the vicinity of Mountain View and surrounding area: IIRC (am I?), Shoreline Park in Mountain View is built on top of a former landfill, and ISTM there have been local panics over the years about it from time to time over the years. Likewise, there was another nearby landfill just on the other side of the old Highway 237 near Lafayette Blvd, and when that was full, 237 was re-built to its current route that goes right on top of it.
I have to wonder how effective incinerators could be in burning the trash and sending out clean air. No time in history has the earth had to deal with an ongoing supply of non bio-degradable material like this. We have run out of space for landfills close to Los Angeles. Trash is trucked a longer distance now.