Landfill

Landfill

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Litter that has moved outside landfill sites can impact the environment. This waste pollution may result from:

• wind blowing light materials offsite, such as plastic bags
• birds and animals removing material
• unsecured materials falling from vehicles and trailers, such as garden waste
• improperly maintained/covered waste moving offsite, such as by stormwater.

Littering often occurs while improperly secured waste is being transported to a landfill site. By law, vehicles and trailers must be loaded safely so they don’t endanger the driver, passengers and other road users, or damage road infrastructure. For advice on restraining various types of loads on light vehicles see the National Transport Commission’s Load Restraint Guide 2018 for Light Vehicles.

Current regulations require landfills to ensure that waste and litter are not inadvertently moved outside the landfill site to other locations. Most landfills currently use litter fences and other barriers to ensure that litter does not move into the environment. However, some other influences – such as animals (e.g., birds and feral pigs) and trucks - can inadvertently contribute to litter on local roads and in the local environment[1].

Waste from landfills moves through the environment via four pathways:

Air

Water

Mechanical

Biological

References

1. ^ Maute, K, Webb, C, Phalen, D, Martin, J, Hobson-Peters, J, Major, RE & French, K (1 January 2019), 'Clean bill of health? Towards an understanding of health risks posed by urban ibis', Journal of Urban Ecology. [online], vol. 5, no. 1, p. juz006. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jue/article/doi/10.1093/jue/juz006/5506280 [Accessed 22 April 2025].

Last updated: 22 April 2025