One of the most densely populated states in the nation, New Jersey has a number of difficult and complicated issues regarding its landfills and waste management in general. With limited space and an industrial history, the state has struggled to find sustainable ways to deal with its waste and the environmental and public health problems that landfills create in areas such as Trenton and others.

Existing Landfill Infrastructure

New Jersey has long depended on landfills to dispose of much of its waste. But due to increased waste and less land, over the last few decades, the state has drastically reduced the amount of active landfills. Finally, as of today there are few functioning municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, with most waste diverted to gateways outside of the state and recycling initiatives. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) implements strict regulations governing landfills in New Jersey to limit the potential negative impact on the environment. Landfills dispose of waste, and constructive measures such as liners, leachate collection systems, and methane capture technologies protect contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. However, many older and closed landfill sites remain problematic, and can be a source of ongoing pollution.

Generation and Diversion of Waste

The solid waste stream in New Jersey, from residential, commercial and industrial sources, amounts to millions of tons every year. The state has been active in encouraging waste diversion via recycling and composting. Indeed, New Jersey was one of the first states to pass mandatory recycling legislation in the 1980s, building on existing recycling programs by requiring municipalities to offer recycling programs for certain materials. Recycling has reduced the burden on landfills but has not solved the problem. Contamination in recycling streams and boom-and-bust markets for recyclable materials have made it trickier to divert waste. Moreover, not everything can be recycled, and mountains of construction and demolition waste often still land in landfills.

Environmental Concerns

Landfills create various environmental hazards, especially in a populated state like New Jersey. Key concerns include:

• Groundwater Contamination: As water seeps through waste, it forms leachate, a liquid that can leach into underground sources of drinking water carrying hazardous substances. Although today’s landfills are equipped to manage the liquid, older, unlined landfills release the leachate, and they have long been implicated in contaminating groundwater and drinking water supplies
• Landfill idle: Decomposed organic waste emits methane that can act as greenhouse gas. Though many landfills in New Jersey capture the methane and use it to generate energy, some emissions break free into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change
• Land Use Conflicts: The limited land available for development sometimes leads to conflicts between landfills and other land uses, particularly residential and commercial development. Closed landfills must also be monitored in the long term, thus utilizing valuable land resources

Closed and Legacy Landfills

New Jersey has more than 800 landfills that were closed or abandoned, and many of them were opened before modern environmental regulations were enacted. Many of these sites are in need of remediation owing to contamination issues. Some older landfills, for instance, have been transformed into parks, solar farms or other facilities, but remediation can be costly and complex. As older landfills close, the state is becoming more dependent on out-of-state waste disposal, driving up both transportation costs and environmental repercussions.

Waste Management Policy and Future Initiatives

New Jersey committing to landfill solutions Key initiatives include:

• Zero Waste Goals: Ambitious state-wide goals have led to increased recycling, composting and waste reduction strategies in place to divert trash away from the landfill
• Waste-to-Energy Facilities: New Jersey has numerous waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities that process non-recyclable waste into energy. Though these facilities cut down on landfill volumes, they are criticized for air pollution and carbon emissions
• Closed Landfills for Renewables: The state has converted some closed landfills into solar and wind energy sites. These projects compliment New Jersey’s clean energy objectives while redeveloping land that otherwise may not be useable
• Better Recycling Efforts: New Jersey has also invested in upgrades to sorting facilities, as well as public education campaigns to correct improper recycling behaviours that add to contamination

Community Health and Public Health Issues

The communities next to landfills often complain of smells, noise and extra truck traffic. Although modern landfill design seeks to mitigate these effects, there’s typically strong public opposition to new or expanded landfill projects. There are also heavy environmental justice concerns, given that landfills and waste facilities tend to find their home in low-income and minority communities. The state of New Jersey is not only a densely populated area, but also one of the historically most environmentally sensitive areas. Despite advancements in waste diversion and modern landfill waste management, legacy site contamination, environmental risk, and limited land availability still prevail across the state. With continued investments in innovative waste-reduction programs, renewable energy initiatives, and expanding recycling infrastructure, New Jersey can decrease its dependence on landfills even more and continue on the path to a more sustainable future.