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Landfills in Texas are, literally, a growing problem. The Lone Star State alone has 12 landfills towering above 200 feet tall. There’s no shortage of landfill space, either. Texas counties have, on average, over 40 years of reserve capacity. We even have 3 landfills with over 2000 years of space! Texas has more landfill space than any other state, and this over-capacity undermines efforts to improve recycling rates.
Click here to read the latest report from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on landfill trends.
Landfills are No Accident
Texas’ environmental standards for landfills are among the weakest in the nation, and enforcement of landfill laws is weak as well. In addition, many consumer products contain toxic materials and are difficult to recycle. Their producers typically pay none of the high cost this creates. Combine this with heavy tax subsidies for landfill space, and we're left with a current system in which dumping trash in a landfill is far more profitable than recycling it – up to ten times more profitable, according to industry insiders. As long as dumping is seen as cheaper than recycling, the acceptance of landfills as a necessary evil is a public perception that is very hard to shake.
Mega-landfill companies constantly claim more (and bigger) landfills are needed, repeating "the trash has to go somewhere" as if landfills are the only possible solution. Fortunately this is far from true and many better alternatives do exist -- but it will take effective education and advocacy to shape a future without dumps.
Zero Waste for a Better World
Zero waste is at once both the concept and the goal of eliminating waste altogether. Just as there is no waste in nature, proponents argue that the very idea of waste is unnecessary. Waste is a design flaw, one that can and must be solved for a sustainable future.
Learn more about zero waste!
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