Landfills create big problems. Toxins in electronic refuse — old cell phones, computers, televisions, etc. — can eventually leach into the soil and groundwater, causing decades of environmental health hazards. Food scraps and green waste are covered and packed down as they decompose, a process that reduces oxygen and eventually releases methane, a gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Unfortunately, landfills can also alter entire wildlife food webs.

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