landfill

Everyday

1. A landfill is a large hole or site in the ground where rubbish is buried. tree →
2. Landfill is the rubbish that is buried in such places. tree →

In the lessons

In science and geography lessons about waste and recycling, pupils learn that landfills fill up, give off methane gas and can pollute soil and water, so people should reduce, reuse and recycle. In everyday life, the bin lorry takes non-recyclable rubbish to landfill. Phrases: go to landfill, landfill site, sent to landfill, keep out of landfill.

Examples

• Most of our rubbish ends up in a landfill. tree →
• Recycling keeps plastic out of landfill. tree →
• The council opened a new landfill site outside town. tree →
• Rotting food in landfill gives off methane gas. tree →
• Plastic bags can take hundreds of years to break down in a landfill. tree →
• Our school cut its landfill waste from 50 bags to 20 bags a week, saving 30. tree →
• Old phones should be recycled, not sent to landfill. tree →

Note

Countable (a landfill) or uncountable (landfill as rubbish). In the UK people say «the tip» or «the dump» informally. A myth: everything in landfill rots quickly; in fact many things barely break down because there is little air.