Landfills, popularly called "dumps" were once a necessity for discarding waste, and it's easy to see why. In big cities, it could be challenging to dispose of garbage adequately. In the U.S., landfills became a popular outlet for disposing of industrial, commercial, and residential waste, with over 70% of our trash ending up in landfills. Between the 1950s and 1990s, nearly 2500 landfills were created. Landfills allowed us to keep waste out of sight, out of mind. It allowed us to create an illusion that we could consume infinitely without harming the environment. Yet, the reality is that these landfills have left an irreversible negative impact on our planet. The decaying trash in these mounds pollute water and air, attracts rodents and insects, releases harmful greenhouse gases, and compromises the soil. Unfortunately, the damage has been done, and we now have to look for a way to right our wrongs.
Reclaimed landfill parks are gaining prominence as a sustainable solution for the post-closure of landfills. It's a testament to sustainability, slowly becoming an innovative way to reclaim land once deemed useless. It's now possible to turn a significant ecological disaster into an eco-friendly oasis. A reclaimed landfill park is a leisure park built on a closed landfill, acting as a reminder of what can be accomplished through hard work and dedication.
A reclaimed landfill park comes packed with manifold benefits that make it not only a practical solution but also an ambitious effort.
Reclaimed landfill parks often come with a landfill gas management strategy that ensures active management of gas in the landfill, generating electricity, and preventing methane and carbon dioxide escape. These parks work explicitly towards regulating the emission of methane and carbon dioxide from the landfill. Once actively managed, the park becomes a carbon sink, soaking up carbon and methane that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere.
Reclaimed landfill parks can turn otherwise environmentally devastated landscapes into potential eco-friendly recreation centers, cultivating healthy lifestyles along with environmental education. They create an atmosphere that values and educates visitors on the importance of living sustainably. A revitalized outdoor destination becomes a secure site for leisure, sports, and contemplation for members of the community.
A reclaimed landfill park has the potential to become a wildlife habitat after proper planning and management. Before restoration, the landfill lacked vegetation, making it useless for wildlife. A reclaimed landfill park provides new trees, shrubs, and flowers for bees and other pollinators, butterflies, and birds to pollinate. These green corridors connect patches of our urban landscape and promote wildlife movement along with essential ecological functions.
A reclaimed landfill park offers a sustainable, eco-friendly version of a tourist destination. Local businesses, hotels, restaurants, and recreational offers all reap the benefits of the visitation this type of green space offers. While the park creates a sustainable eco-system, it generates commercial potential through creating jobs and increased business activity.
One of the most presentable illustration of a reclaimed landfill park is the Freshkills Park in Staten Island, New York. Freshkills has gone from being the largest landfill in the world to a sustainable park over the past decade. The park, which spans up to 2200 acres, has become an embodiment of what can be accomplished when environmental aesthetics are put ahead of economic benefit. The project is just starting, yet the current park displays an idyllic example of what the future can hold.
Over the years, New York City has led a primm example by integrating different grants, partnerships, and investments into the project. The park planners considered the most efficient funding and utilization of resources to make this project a colossal environmental win. This partnership allowed Freshkills park to have a prominent feature - a platform for showcasing the best sustainable practices through parks.
One of Freshkills' challenges was environmental restoration. Freshkills park planners ensured a rigorous and thorough environmental restoration process that involved mitigating and correcting decades-long of ecological degradation. The planners considered restoring the wetlands, creek banks, planting vegetation, and retrieving resources such as soil.
Freshkills has a landfill gas management program and system that reduces the landfill's carbon footprint. This investment in the gas system is central to the park, with more space dedicated to the landfill gas system than any other park use.
Freshkills' recreation facilities stand out for their education focus, practicality, and sustainability. The park offers hikers, bikers, bird-watchers, and runners a rare experience in a park with a varied landscape of landscape architecture designs.
Reclaimed landfill parks are built on closed landfills, converting ecological devastated landscapes into potential eco-friendly recreation centers. They offer a sustainable and eco-friendly solution.
Reclaimed landfill parks are practical solutions for post-closure of landfills that have become an innovative way to reclaim land once deemed useless. They offer benefits such as soaking up methane and carbon dioxide, creating eco-friendly oases, preserving wildlife habitat, and generating revenue.
Fresh Kills Park is a reclaimed landfill park created from the former Fresh kills Landfill in Staten Island, New York. Over the past decade, Fresh Kills' 2200-acre park has gone from the largest landfill in the world to a sustainable park - a crucial embodiment of what can be accomplished with sound park planning and environmental restoration.
