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(MUSIC)

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Joan Cartan-Hansen, Host: In 500

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bce, the city of Athens started

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the first garbage dump.

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It didn't last long.

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People preferred to just dump

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their trash outside their homes.

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And that's how we handled trash

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for thousands of years.

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In the mid-18 hundreds, some

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trash was hauled to pig farms.

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Pigs would eat the trash and

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then people would eat the

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fattened pigs.

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Until pigs started dying from

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food-borne illnesses.

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The first modern landfill opened

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in Fresno, California in 1937.

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A modern sanitary landfill is

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regulated by the government.

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It must be built away from

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wetlands, flood plans, and

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earthquake faults.

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The landfill must of a liner

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overlaying at least two feet of

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compacted clay soil.

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Landfill operators have to make

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sure harmful waste products

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aren't leaking into underground

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water supplies.

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The trash at the landfill has to

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be compacted frequently and

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covered with soil.

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That helps cut down on odor,

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insects, and rodents.

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And each landfill can only hold

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so much.

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Operators have to prepare to

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shut down and care for closed

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landfills.

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And they have to find a new

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place to put your trash.

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For more information about

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garbage, check out the Science

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Trek website.

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You'll find it at science trek

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dot org