Ask anybody, and you’ll find that no one likes a landfill site. It’s not difficult to see why: it’s ugly, smelly, and poses clear health risks to people and the environment.
The good news is that as a nation, we’re steadily improving the way we deal with waste. We’re sending less rubbish to landfill sites in the UK, and recycling more instead of simply tossing everything into bins or skips.
What’s more, landfill sites are evolving right alongside us. The meaning of landfill has changed as landfill sites have become more tightly controlled, better engineered, and far more closely regulated. Here are just some of the ways they’ve improved.
The first landfill sites
The first landfill sites were exactly what they sound like: huge man-made holes in the ground, into which rubbish was simply dumped and—often haphazardly—sealed. Plants and vegetation were planted on the topsoil, but they tended to die almost immediately due to methane gas released by the rotting waste beneath them.
Beneath the surface, these sites offered little protection against wider environmental damage. The underground pits lacked any barrier between the waste and the surrounding soil, leaving it vulnerable to leachate from landfill—contaminated liquid formed as water passes through waste and carries pollutants with it. This leachate was able to seep directly into soil and groundwater, in some cases affecting farmland, watercourses, and drinking water supplies.
At the same time, gases produced by decomposing waste were left largely uncontrolled. Methane built up underground or escaped freely into the air, increasing both environmental risk and the danger to those working on or near landfill sites. Combined with liquid pollution, this made early landfills difficult to manage and, in some cases, hazardous to maintain.
Waste in landfills above ground was also often openly burned, creating serious air pollution and clear risks to human health. Unregulated landfill gases drifting offsite added further danger, with some sites even creating explosion risks beyond their boundaries.
Location, location, location
Modern landfill sites are subject to far stricter controls than their early counterparts. Regulations now govern where sites can be built, how they operate, and how their impact on air and water is monitored over time. Emissions are closely managed to reduce risks to both the environment and public health.
Today, landfill sites in the UK are built away from human habitation and only in locations that meet strict environmental and structural criteria. Fault lines and floodplains are typically ruled out, given the risks they pose to containment systems. Exceptions are rare and only permitted where councils can demonstrate effective safeguards against events such as flooding or ground movement. Natural rivers and streams are also carefully considered, with site layouts designed to reduce the risk of contamination.
These location decisions are made with the full lifecycle of a landfill site in mind. Choosing stable ground and low-risk areas helps protect containment systems during active use and supports long-term monitoring once a site is closed. This approach allows authorities to manage environmental impact decades after waste disposal has ended, rather than treating landfill as a short-term solution.
Doing the dirty work
Once a modern landfill site is built, its layout is strictly regulated to control how waste is managed over time. Waste is only tipped into designated ‘active’ zones at any one time, allowing for greater control over how it breaks down and making it easier to collect gas emissions and leachate products.
Modern landfill sites rely on multiple layers of protection to contain waste safely. Beneath each active area, engineered liners made from compacted clay and synthetic materials help prevent leachate from landfill entering the surrounding ground. Drainage systems collect contaminated liquid so it can be treated separately, while monitoring wells allow operators to track changes in groundwater quality. Together, these systems control how waste in landfills interacts with the environment and reduce the risk of long-term pollution.
Specialist machinery plays a key role in this process. Equipment used to compact, cover, and manage waste is regularly adjusted to improve efficiency and reduce the risk of gas build-up or surface exposure.
Far from being allowed to drift off into the atmosphere, most landfill sites in the UK now capture landfill gases and feed them into turbines. These turbines generate electricity which goes straight back into the national grid, powering homes and businesses. In fact, the waste management sector is a significant contributor to the UK’s renewable energy mix, reportedly producing up to 25% of it—much of this from landfill gas.
A landfill site does not stop being managed once waste disposal ends. Operators are required to monitor landfill gases, leachate levels, and ground stability for many years after closure. Gas collection systems often remain active to prevent pressure build-up, while drainage systems continue to remove contaminated liquid, ensuring environmental controls remain effective beyond the site’s working life.
When a site finally reaches its capacity, its managers are legally required to oversee its restoration so it can, in future, once again be used for agricultural purposes or natural conservation. Restored landfill sites are often repurposed as public green spaces, wildlife habitats, or renewable energy sites such as solar farms.
Nothing rubbish about that!
This explains what happens to waste in landfills, but not all waste makes it that far. Some materials still end up in landfill because they cannot currently be recycled or recovered safely. Contaminated waste, certain construction materials, and mixed household waste that cannot be effectively separated often have no viable alternative. In these cases, landfill sites act as a controlled final option, preventing waste from being dumped illegally or handled without safeguards.
Over time, landfill has shifted from being the default disposal method to a last resort within the UK waste system. Higher costs, tighter regulation, and improved recycling infrastructure have all reduced the role landfill sites play. Councils and businesses are now encouraged to recover value from waste wherever possible through recycling, composting, or energy recovery, with landfill used only when other options are not suitable.
This shift is reinforced by policy. The UK continues to follow the Landfill Directive, introduced in 2001, which sets limits on biodegradable waste and establishes technical standards for landfill sites. Landfill Tax has further reduced reliance on disposal by increasing the cost of sending waste to landfill, pushing councils and businesses to invest in alternative waste management solutions.
Landfill facts in the UK
Government waste data shows UK biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) sent to landfill was 6.3 million tonnes in 2022, falling to 5.3 million tonnes in 2023. Landfill capacity is also more limited than it used to be. The Environment Agency notes there are only around 500 operational landfill sites in England and Wales.
Policy has been a major driver of this shift. Landfill tax, introduced in 1996, has risen from £7 per tonne at launch to more than £100 per tonne for standard waste today. Alongside limits introduced by the Landfill Directive on biodegradable waste, this has pushed councils and businesses to divert waste away from landfill and treat disposal as a last resort rather than a default option.
At Skip Hire Network, we play a practical role in supporting recycling and responsible waste management. We work with licensed operators to divert as much waste as possible away from landfill, using established recycling and recovery processes. Our service is designed to be straightforward, handling the logistics so you can dispose of waste correctly without unnecessary complexity.
You can read more about our services, or request an instant skip hire quote through our website. For more waste and landfill facts, visit our blog.
