A Landfill you can Eat!

Waukesha County, Wisconsin has put together a great learning experience for kids on the workings of a landfill.  And the best part of all is that they get to eat the project when they are done.  Have fun.

Edible Landfill

This project shows students the amount of engineering that goes into the creation of a landfill and the byproducts of throwing things ‘away’. Discussion about the model can be directed to meet a wide variety of standards.

Supplies Needed:

Graham cracker pie crust — Clay liner                      (for single serving 1 small pie crust)

8-10 fruit roll-ups — synthetic geomembrane liner    (for small pie crust, a couple will do)

Graham crackers (crushed) — gravel

8 pieces of licorice — leachate collection & gas collection (for small pie crust use 3)

2 boxes Instant vanilla pudding — trash                           (for small pie crust use 1)

Chocolate chips — trash

Oreos (crushed) — daily soil cover

Coconut colored green w/ food coloring — grass cover

First you must create the landfill

The pie pan is the hole in the ground and the graham cracker crust is the 2 foot clay liner. Line the crust with the fruit roll-ups. Sprinkle crushed graham crackers for gravel. Lay 2 pieces of licorice down horizontal for leachate collection.

Now you may fill the landfill

Cover the graham crackers with pudding and chocolate chips. Discuss different types of trash that go into the landfill and their different consistencies. The average Wisconsinite creates 4.7 lbs. of trash a day! Poke licorice into the mixture to allow methane to escape. Some methane can be recaptured for energy, but only a small percentage. The rest is flared off and sent into the atmosphere. Cover the trash with daily soil cover (crushed Oreos) to keep birds away and the odor at bay. Continue layering until the pan is full.

Now the landfill must close

Cover the landfill with coconut.  While the landfill sets up discuss the amount of waste generated from the activity.  How much was recyclable? How could this waste be reduced?

What are the byproducts of disposing of trash? How is this an accurate model?

Are there any inaccuracies?

Enjoy your landfill by slicing into it after a few minutes!

Waukesha County Recycling & Solid Waste

www.waukeshacounty.gov/recycling

E-mail: asmith@waukeshacounty.govible