Lanfill

At present, most of the waste produced in Ireland is landfilled in municipal landfill sites. The landfilling of waste is the least environmentally sound waste management option as it requires large areas of land and may cause air and water pollution.

Landfilling waste results in the production of landfill gas (methane) which is a powerful greenhouse gas (methane has 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide). In order to reduce air pollution, many landfills in Ireland collect landfill gas and burn it to produce electricity. Landfilling of waste also results in the production of leachate which may give rise to the pollution of groundwater sources if not managed properly.