Landfills are mostly just "lets push the problem forward and have the next generation deal with it". Yes, there is a lot of space we could use to fill up with trash, but everything is finite.
In the chain of raw resources -> refined resources -> partial assemblies -> assembled products -> used products -> waste all steps are finite, and it's just a matter of which limit we hit first. Instead of waiting and "hoping for the best" it would make much more sense to plan ahead and start limiting the growth and acceleration towards that finite limit so we have a chance at mitigation.
> Landfills are mostly just "lets push the problem forward and have the next generation deal with it". Yes, there is a lot of space we could use to fill up with trash, but everything is finite.
What timespan are we talking about here? Literally the next generation? Or a few hundred years from now? With the available space in the US I'm leaning towards the latter. With that in mind and recognizing the net present value of landfill space a few hundred years from now is close to zero, I can definitely get behind "lets push the problem forward and have the next generation deal with it".
In the chain of raw resources -> refined resources -> partial assemblies -> assembled products -> used products -> waste all steps are finite, and it's just a matter of which limit we hit first. Instead of waiting and "hoping for the best" it would make much more sense to plan ahead and start limiting the growth and acceleration towards that finite limit so we have a chance at mitigation.