Landfills across the country are leaking toxic leachate into waterways, and when owners go bankrupt or vanish, neighbors and taxpayers are left holding the bill.
Surprised that landfills are such a stagnant matter in the United States of today. China seems to have moved much further by recycling and re-engineering a waste to energy approach.
20 yrs ago we had plasma technology available for garbage processing. The up front cost was too much for “big trash” and hardly anyone used it. It makes me incredibly angry. I blogged about this 20 yrs ago. They want to destroy they planet as fast as thy can.
That’s terrible what they’re doing. Thank you for your attention to this. And thank you for speaking about this. This piece was very insightful to what is actually going on.
Thank you for this investigation! This reveals the lie about "disposable" goods, and the flow-through nature of economic growth. Mine, manufacture, use, dispose, landfill. From dust to (toxic) dust. And there are, believe it or not, landfills in Antarctica! And waste on the Moon already! "What fools these mortals be"
Ask yourself why is everything being made available to us in todays modern world marketed towards convenient and disposable? If you take the time (who has THAT- get it?) to do a deep dive in to recycling you'll discover deep lies. Modern recycling is broken. I read a book that helped open my eyes to view garbage and consuming in a whole new light. The book is Year Of No Garbage by Eve O. Schaub. I highly recommend it as it touches directly on this issue. I learned we have PLASTIC ISLANDS ( plural ) in our oceans! IS-LANDS, people!
In 1995, I wrote in my book Sharing from the Heart about the mountains of waste that were inundating the earth created by technology with all its disposable items.. Its truly frightening reading about what is going on here in our country. it should be a major concern with landfills turning the earth into a very toxic cesspool,
Should check out Niagara Falls NY actually all of WNY from Buffalo to Syracuse. It's bad,my house has hot spots in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom and now come to find out lead 212 is present in our filters from our house. Supposedly going to be temporarily relocated
You all should ask how the State of New York allowed the states largest C and D landfill immediately adjacent to a 1000 kid public school serving the kids from an environmental justice community. This is classic environmental injustice taking advantage of a small poor community by a multi billon dollar international business. If this report wants a story this is a big one!
I hadn’t really considered how long the financial life of a landfill continues after its operational life ends. The gap between what can be set aside and what decades of monitoring and cleanup may actually cost is striking. It makes me wonder what communities should be requiring on the front end rather than trying to solve after the fact.
Erin and Suzanne, a good article. An area requiring more attention. How does the EPA wash their hands of this situation ? Maybe creating toxic wastelands is the goal for these corporations ? They love to force people off the land and into the cities at every opportunity. Is the EPA taking orders from corporations ? These are the same corporations that over package everything they sell !
Gotta remember that the EPA is full of well-intentioned people, but it's underfunded and understaffed. On top of that, read again the part where I talk about agency hot potato. Everyone thinks it falls under someone else's jurisdiction, and that's the real problem. EPA has been dysfunctional for decades.
REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN SCHOOLS HELPED US LEARN HEALTH? VOTING HISTORY MATH ART.... MY FIRST DAY IN SCHOOL I GOT CALLED KRAP PANTS BECAUSE MY SHOE MADE A FART NOISE WHEN I SNEEZED & POOP BY THE POUND IS IRL MATH TOO THANKS FOR CARING & SHARING & SHOWING US WHAT TO DO & HOW TO GSD LIFE ON THE RUN OR AVOIDING THE RUNS.... TESTING 123 ABC
There is going to be an AI Data Center 5 and half miles from my home and now they want to build another one 3 miles from my home , I live in Allentown PA , in the state of PA there are so many AI Data Centers just popping up everywhere , what is going on with this , why so many
WHATS THE MATTER W U IS WHATS THE MATTER W/ ALL OF US = AMERiCANS GSD ToGetHer
AI AI Overview Comparing a human body to a building reveals shared operational logic.
Both rely on intake, structural integrity, continuous monitoring, and waste removal to maintain health and efficiency. Intake and Fuel
Person: Ingests food, water, and oxygen to convert into cellular energy (metabolism).
Building: Consumes electricity, gas, and water to power internal utility systems.
Health Impact: Poor fuel (bad nutrition vs. toxic materials) degrades baseline performance.
Circulation and Distribution Person:
The heart pumps blood through arteries and veins to deliver oxygen and nutrients.
Building: HVAC and duct systems push conditioned air and water through pipe networks.
Health Impact: Blockages or clogs lead to system stress, high pressure, and localized failure.
Control and Nervous Systems Person:
The brain and nervous system process stimuli and trigger physical responses.
Building: Smart thermostats and building management systems (BMS) regulate climate and safety.
Health Impact: Delayed response times lead to overheating, freezing, or toxic accumulation.
Waste and Maintenance Person: Kidneys, liver, and lungs filter out toxins and metabolic waste.
Building: Drainage, exhaust vents, and air filters clear out refuse and particulate matter.
Health Impact: Failed filtration triggers systemic illness in humans and "sick building syndrome."Would you like me to expand this comparison into a text-based decision tree or focus on a specific operational metric like energy efficiency vs. human metabolism?
Not surprised to see Virginia in this write-up. Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley Processes 70% of Global Internet Traffic & the state is rounding on 600 total data centers. Where there’s data centers, there’s tons of IT hardware waste going to landfills, and no shortage of potentially caustic / runoff materials. The race to “innovate at all costs” is only shrinking the h/w lifecycle-
From the Uptime Institute 2026 Global Data Center Survey:
Server refresh: an increasingly watched metric
IT sustainability specialists have long paid attention to server refresh rates (how long organizations keep servers before replacing them) — because IT equipment contains valuable materials and contributes to embodied carbon and e-waste. Keeping servers in service for longer can reduce e-waste and spread the embodied carbon of the equipment over a longer useful life. However, there is a trade-off: older servers may consume more energy for a given level of work, which can offset some of the sustainability benefits of delaying replacement.
Refresh rates are watched for other reasons too. During periods of rapid innovation, they can shorten as newer and more efficient equipment is brought in; and accountants — and insurers — can be caught out by sudden swings in the cost of replacement equipment. When refresh rates are shorter, older equipment is likely to lose value more quickly.
Between 2015 and 2023, operators reported increasing server life cycles, from around 36 to 44 months. Since 2023, this trend has reversed: operators say they are retiring servers sooner, and the reported server lifetime has decreased to around 41 months, slightly above the 2020 level (see Figure 7).
This partly relates to the current rapid build-out of data centers and a shift toward higher-density applications, including HPC and AI, where newer and more powerful servers are more attractive because they deliver higher performance. However, there is a more specific explanation too: in the period leading up to 2023, Intel, still the largest incumbent supplier of CPUs to the commercial server market, was unable to introduce new processors with enough performance gains to encourage widespread replacement. With the introduction of new processors, Intel (along with competitor AMD) is now correcting this.
Great Q. The answer: it depends. It's not a reason to move out, but it is a reason to drill down and ask more questions. Where is the leachate going? The question isn't "is there contamination nearby?" --> it's "does it reach anything I drink, breathe, or touch?" If you're on a well water, get your well tested. Otherwise, you have to look at the water quality report from your utility and see what chemicals have been detected. The danger lives in the pathway, the contaminants, and the concentration, not in the word "contaminated" alone.
Surprised that landfills are such a stagnant matter in the United States of today. China seems to have moved much further by recycling and re-engineering a waste to energy approach.
20 yrs ago we had plasma technology available for garbage processing. The up front cost was too much for “big trash” and hardly anyone used it. It makes me incredibly angry. I blogged about this 20 yrs ago. They want to destroy they planet as fast as thy can.
I've never heard of "plasma technology" regarding waste disposal.. could you provide a link?
Google search “plasma garbage disposal systems” and even the shitty ai should give you an overview. You can further research from there.
That’s terrible what they’re doing. Thank you for your attention to this. And thank you for speaking about this. This piece was very insightful to what is actually going on.
Thank you for this investigation! This reveals the lie about "disposable" goods, and the flow-through nature of economic growth. Mine, manufacture, use, dispose, landfill. From dust to (toxic) dust. And there are, believe it or not, landfills in Antarctica! And waste on the Moon already! "What fools these mortals be"
Ask yourself why is everything being made available to us in todays modern world marketed towards convenient and disposable? If you take the time (who has THAT- get it?) to do a deep dive in to recycling you'll discover deep lies. Modern recycling is broken. I read a book that helped open my eyes to view garbage and consuming in a whole new light. The book is Year Of No Garbage by Eve O. Schaub. I highly recommend it as it touches directly on this issue. I learned we have PLASTIC ISLANDS ( plural ) in our oceans! IS-LANDS, people!
In 1995, I wrote in my book Sharing from the Heart about the mountains of waste that were inundating the earth created by technology with all its disposable items.. Its truly frightening reading about what is going on here in our country. it should be a major concern with landfills turning the earth into a very toxic cesspool,
Should check out Niagara Falls NY actually all of WNY from Buffalo to Syracuse. It's bad,my house has hot spots in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom and now come to find out lead 212 is present in our filters from our house. Supposedly going to be temporarily relocated
Set up offices for this administration on one and see how fast something gets done.
You all should ask how the State of New York allowed the states largest C and D landfill immediately adjacent to a 1000 kid public school serving the kids from an environmental justice community. This is classic environmental injustice taking advantage of a small poor community by a multi billon dollar international business. If this report wants a story this is a big one!
I hadn’t really considered how long the financial life of a landfill continues after its operational life ends. The gap between what can be set aside and what decades of monitoring and cleanup may actually cost is striking. It makes me wonder what communities should be requiring on the front end rather than trying to solve after the fact.
Erin and Suzanne, a good article. An area requiring more attention. How does the EPA wash their hands of this situation ? Maybe creating toxic wastelands is the goal for these corporations ? They love to force people off the land and into the cities at every opportunity. Is the EPA taking orders from corporations ? These are the same corporations that over package everything they sell !
Gotta remember that the EPA is full of well-intentioned people, but it's underfunded and understaffed. On top of that, read again the part where I talk about agency hot potato. Everyone thinks it falls under someone else's jurisdiction, and that's the real problem. EPA has been dysfunctional for decades.
REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN SCHOOLS HELPED US LEARN HEALTH? VOTING HISTORY MATH ART.... MY FIRST DAY IN SCHOOL I GOT CALLED KRAP PANTS BECAUSE MY SHOE MADE A FART NOISE WHEN I SNEEZED & POOP BY THE POUND IS IRL MATH TOO THANKS FOR CARING & SHARING & SHOWING US WHAT TO DO & HOW TO GSD LIFE ON THE RUN OR AVOIDING THE RUNS.... TESTING 123 ABC
There is going to be an AI Data Center 5 and half miles from my home and now they want to build another one 3 miles from my home , I live in Allentown PA , in the state of PA there are so many AI Data Centers just popping up everywhere , what is going on with this , why so many
No surprise. Caring about the environment is way too woke
WHATS THE MATTER W U IS WHATS THE MATTER W/ ALL OF US = AMERiCANS GSD ToGetHer
AI AI Overview Comparing a human body to a building reveals shared operational logic.
Both rely on intake, structural integrity, continuous monitoring, and waste removal to maintain health and efficiency. Intake and Fuel
Person: Ingests food, water, and oxygen to convert into cellular energy (metabolism).
Building: Consumes electricity, gas, and water to power internal utility systems.
Health Impact: Poor fuel (bad nutrition vs. toxic materials) degrades baseline performance.
Circulation and Distribution Person:
The heart pumps blood through arteries and veins to deliver oxygen and nutrients.
Building: HVAC and duct systems push conditioned air and water through pipe networks.
Health Impact: Blockages or clogs lead to system stress, high pressure, and localized failure.
Control and Nervous Systems Person:
The brain and nervous system process stimuli and trigger physical responses.
Building: Smart thermostats and building management systems (BMS) regulate climate and safety.
Health Impact: Delayed response times lead to overheating, freezing, or toxic accumulation.
Waste and Maintenance Person: Kidneys, liver, and lungs filter out toxins and metabolic waste.
Building: Drainage, exhaust vents, and air filters clear out refuse and particulate matter.
Health Impact: Failed filtration triggers systemic illness in humans and "sick building syndrome."Would you like me to expand this comparison into a text-based decision tree or focus on a specific operational metric like energy efficiency vs. human metabolism?
Not surprised to see Virginia in this write-up. Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley Processes 70% of Global Internet Traffic & the state is rounding on 600 total data centers. Where there’s data centers, there’s tons of IT hardware waste going to landfills, and no shortage of potentially caustic / runoff materials. The race to “innovate at all costs” is only shrinking the h/w lifecycle-
https://www.districtenergy.org/blogs/district-energy/2026/03/18/northern-virginias-data-center-alley-processes-70
From the Uptime Institute 2026 Global Data Center Survey:
Server refresh: an increasingly watched metric
IT sustainability specialists have long paid attention to server refresh rates (how long organizations keep servers before replacing them) — because IT equipment contains valuable materials and contributes to embodied carbon and e-waste. Keeping servers in service for longer can reduce e-waste and spread the embodied carbon of the equipment over a longer useful life. However, there is a trade-off: older servers may consume more energy for a given level of work, which can offset some of the sustainability benefits of delaying replacement.
Refresh rates are watched for other reasons too. During periods of rapid innovation, they can shorten as newer and more efficient equipment is brought in; and accountants — and insurers — can be caught out by sudden swings in the cost of replacement equipment. When refresh rates are shorter, older equipment is likely to lose value more quickly.
Between 2015 and 2023, operators reported increasing server life cycles, from around 36 to 44 months. Since 2023, this trend has reversed: operators say they are retiring servers sooner, and the reported server lifetime has decreased to around 41 months, slightly above the 2020 level (see Figure 7).
This partly relates to the current rapid build-out of data centers and a shift toward higher-density applications, including HPC and AI, where newer and more powerful servers are more attractive because they deliver higher performance. However, there is a more specific explanation too: in the period leading up to 2023, Intel, still the largest incumbent supplier of CPUs to the commercial server market, was unable to introduce new processors with enough performance gains to encourage widespread replacement. With the introduction of new processors, Intel (along with competitor AMD) is now correcting this.
I just learned that my area is contaminated by leachate. How dangerous is it to keep living here?
Great Q. The answer: it depends. It's not a reason to move out, but it is a reason to drill down and ask more questions. Where is the leachate going? The question isn't "is there contamination nearby?" --> it's "does it reach anything I drink, breathe, or touch?" If you're on a well water, get your well tested. Otherwise, you have to look at the water quality report from your utility and see what chemicals have been detected. The danger lives in the pathway, the contaminants, and the concentration, not in the word "contaminated" alone.
Thank you so much, Erin! ❤️