1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Hello, everybody. Chuck here with your Saturday selects. Pick how 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: landfills work. J This is a good one everyone. Uh. 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: This is part of our I guess uh city works 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: uh suite of podcasts. And how things like landfills work 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,640 Speaker 1: is super important and very interesting and not quite as 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: depressing as you might think a little bit. But it's 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: also kind of a marvel of engineering how these things 8 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: actually get pulled off. So take a listen, take a 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: re listen even how landfills work? Right now, welcome to 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know, a production of I Heart Radios 11 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 12 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: Josh Clark. There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, there's Jerry over there, 13 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: and this is Stuff you should Know. Hi, how's it going. 14 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: It's great? Good, Good to yourself. I found this topic 15 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: and I was starting to tell you before how interesting 16 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: I thought it was. Yeah, you went it's awesome. I 17 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: was like, stop, it's gold. So now I'm going to 18 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: say it. It's awesome. And landfills the concept of a landfill, 19 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: even though it ain't perfect, it's pretty neat. Yeah, And 20 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: even though we need to reduce the amount of trash, 21 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: especially Americans produce. Yeah, um, there is still going to 22 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:34,720 Speaker 1: be trash in the world and it needs to be 23 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: dealt with. And this is way better than the old days. Uh, 24 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: when in like pre nineteen thirty New York City they 25 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,800 Speaker 1: would dump their garbage in the ocean. And then between 26 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty and we still do that. You realize, well, 27 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: New York City doesn't dump it right in the Atlantic Ocean, no, 28 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: but a lot of garbage is dumped in the ocean. Yeah. Well, 29 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,040 Speaker 1: we talked about the Great Pacific Garbage back um. And 30 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: then between the nineteen thirties and the nineteen seventies they 31 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: had what they called dumps, which is a big hole 32 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: in the ground covered in rats and birds and that 33 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: you would just dump garbage to leach into everything. Yes, 34 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: which is messed up. And the e p A comes 35 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: along and I think the sixties, definitely the seventies and 36 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:22,839 Speaker 1: was like, uh, we need to do something better about this. 37 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: But so the the idea of the landfill was born 38 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,920 Speaker 1: in about the sixties, I believe. Well, well, the first 39 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: modern sanitary landfill was seven and frees Now, okay, that's right, 40 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: and it's like a National Historic Place or something. Yeah, 41 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: because it kind of kicked off the whole thing. But 42 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,959 Speaker 1: it wasn't until the sixties and seventies that they started 43 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: passing law saying that, like every state really needs to 44 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: start doing the same thing, right And like you said 45 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,519 Speaker 1: before that they just dumped their trash and a pit, 46 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: which people have been doing for millennia at least um 47 00:02:56,360 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: they were burning their trash also, and it sounds mine 48 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: ugglingly awful, and it is, especially from an environmental standpoint, 49 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: but they didn't have the trash problem that we have 50 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: now in the sixties. Since the nineteen sixties are trash generation, 51 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: municipal solid waste generation has um doubled, tripled, tripled, And 52 00:03:21,639 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: I was like, why is that? What's going on? Apparently 53 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: it's the advent of cheap packaging. Before styrofoam packaging, before plastic, 54 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: before aluminum cans that everybody just threw away. Everything was 55 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: wrapped in a T shirt that you could wear exactly, 56 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: and like when you weren't carrying around a slab of 57 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: meat in the T shirt from the butcher to your house, 58 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: you wore your T shirt so you reused it, right, No, 59 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: but no, you would you would have maybe, like, um, 60 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: do you remember when Sam the butcher brought Alice the meat. 61 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: BC Boys reference was just about to say, um, freshman 62 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: Stone driving around with two ft bald ft yeah, which 63 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: is I guess a really weird way of putting in 64 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: his barefoot. Well, it didn't rhyme bald feet anyway. He 65 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: would bring it to her wrapped in like white butcher's 66 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: paper and she would throw it away and it would 67 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,359 Speaker 1: really not take up much space of the dump. It 68 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: would decompose. It wasn't like styrofoam, which lasts for fifty 69 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: thousand years, right, Yeah, And so starting about nine sixty, packaging, 70 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: especially very non biodegradable packaging, took off like a rocket. 71 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: Yeah you could still go to the butcher, though now 72 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: you can, and you get it in paper, but you 73 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: go to that big chain grocery store and it's going 74 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: to be plastic in styrofoam. So between nineteen sixty and 75 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: are packaging waste increased by eight That meant that we 76 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: had to do something. We had a lot more trash 77 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: and we had to take care of this trash and 78 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: ways that we had before. And so the modern landfill 79 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: based on that Fresno model uh boomed And fortunately that's 80 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: right but even now they're finding we went too far 81 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: in one direction. Yeah, now we need to adjust to 82 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:13,840 Speaker 1: massage it a little bit, refine it, and we're we 83 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: were coming up with a new generation of landfills. That's right. So, uh, 84 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: if you're talking about a landfill, the goal of a 85 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: landfill is not to compost trash. And a lot of 86 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,919 Speaker 1: people probably don't know this. Yeah, it's not to compost 87 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: trash such that it breaks down super quickly, uh and biodegrades. 88 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: It is the opposite of that. It is to keep 89 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 1: it as dry as possible in an airtight and and 90 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: just bury it, lock it away from the surrounding world. 91 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: That's right. And so that's what a landfill is, a 92 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: sanitary landfill, municipal solid waste or MSW landfill. Um, they 93 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: isolate the trash from the environment. They don't just dump 94 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: it on the dirt and let things leach in. And 95 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: this thus begins the landfill podcast Sarah. Lot of components 96 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,119 Speaker 1: to that, but that's along and short of it. It's true. 97 00:06:03,320 --> 00:06:07,720 Speaker 1: And um, what what that's called. The whole idea behind 98 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:13,320 Speaker 1: that landfill that was in reaction to that's one A 99 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: dry tomb is the industry lingo for it. It's and 100 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: it it was created in reaction to trash just being 101 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: allowed to seep into the groundwater and methane to leak 102 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: out in the air blow up. Apparently, houses that have 103 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: utility pipes that passed by old landfills, methane will get 104 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: into those utility pipes and like get in mixed in 105 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: with the electricity and when you go to plug in 106 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: your toaster and it sparks kaboom. Really. Yes, it's a 107 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,280 Speaker 1: problem with old landfills because they were all idiots with 108 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: trash like up until the sixties, seventies, eighties, um, and 109 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: even still we have a big problem with trash, but 110 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: nothing like it is before. As far as taking care 111 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:03,479 Speaker 1: of it, we're starting to really get a handle on it. 112 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: Americans produce four point six pounds of trash per day 113 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: per person. Yeah, and you know what's crazy is you'd think, well, 114 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: America is probably like as bad as it gets. Know, 115 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: the UK is America is like in the middle roughly 116 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:21,840 Speaker 1: for trash generation, and the UK is the worst. They 117 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: produced per capita, They produced the most, and um they 118 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: also throw away the most. They have the lowest recovery rate. Um. 119 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,720 Speaker 1: Although it's gone up I believe I think they had 120 00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: like some sort of national initiative because it says here 121 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: that it went up from thirty one recovery rate, which 122 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: is like recycling and that kind of stuff, um, basically 123 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: diverting it from the landfill, to so it's actually better 124 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: than America as far as the resource recovery rate goes. 125 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: Canada is the worst. I'm sorry, Canada is the worst. Yeah, 126 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: that's hard to believe. I would think so too, but 127 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: it's true. The standout is Germany. Germany produces way more 128 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: trash per person than any other country per capita, but 129 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: they also have the highest recovery rate at like almost 130 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: of their trash gets diverted from the landfill. That's amazing. 131 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: Actually that's efficient. What what's the American number on that diversion? 132 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:23,120 Speaker 1: It hovers about a third for at least a couple 133 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: of decades, now, maybe three decades, you could say Americans 134 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,760 Speaker 1: diverted about they diverted about a third of their trash 135 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: from the landfill. You'd like to see that number get 136 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: better in three decades for sure, you know, and it's 137 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: always hovers around thirty and it should be a lot 138 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:42,080 Speaker 1: better than that. You know, what that sounds like to me, 139 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,440 Speaker 1: whoever is in charge of doing that study is just like, 140 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:50,079 Speaker 1: let's just use last numbers. We can all live with that, right, Yeah, alright, 141 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: So if you want to landfill in your municipality, Um, 142 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,959 Speaker 1: you're going to have to start with a proposal by saying. 143 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: You can't just go start Yeah, you gotta look around 144 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: and say we need to landfill everybody. So let's uh 145 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: do an environmental impact study and let's let's find an area. 146 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: Let's find a lot of acreage. Um. Because I think 147 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: they use the North Wake County Landfill in Raleigh, North 148 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,079 Speaker 1: Carolina as a their go to example in this article. 149 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,080 Speaker 1: So our how stuff works started two and thirty acres 150 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,360 Speaker 1: of land, about seventy acres of which is the actual landfill. 151 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: So you're gonna need a lot of land, and you're 152 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,319 Speaker 1: gonna have to do an environmental impact study to determine 153 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:34,559 Speaker 1: a lot of things. How much land do you have, Yeah, 154 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,839 Speaker 1: if there's enough of it? Sure? Um. What type of 155 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: soil you have and what bedrock is underneath it? Very important? Um? 156 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: How water flows over the surface of the site. Yeah, 157 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:47,559 Speaker 1: does it flow right down into the river? Does it 158 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: not perfully? Right? Right? Exactly? Um. And then the uh, 159 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 1: the impact it's going to have on local wildlife. Sure, 160 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,720 Speaker 1: and if it's an historic site, like an archaeological site, yeah, 161 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: you don't want a landfill on an archa a logical site. 162 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: What's funny is if you, um, if you go back 163 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,319 Speaker 1: and look at the Fresh Kills landfill, which is one 164 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: of the biggest in the world New York, right yeah, 165 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: and it wasn't even the only one for New York. 166 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: It's closed now, right, yes, And the guy who created 167 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:19,199 Speaker 1: the high line, James Corner, is um creating a park 168 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,960 Speaker 1: there out of it, like a massive, massive park. Interesting. 169 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: I think like three times the size of Central Park. 170 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: Are they calling it Cancer Park? I think they're avoiding that. Okay, 171 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: I don't remember what it's called. I wrote a really 172 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,040 Speaker 1: interesting New York magazine article about it now it really 173 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: well written and clever, um, where it's basically like, that's awesome, 174 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: that's awesome, this guy's got this great vision. And then 175 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: but it's a landfill, you know. I'm sure at the 176 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,680 Speaker 1: end of the day it's still bared garbage exactly. Um. Alright, 177 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: So when we talked about the bedrock, that's really important 178 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,679 Speaker 1: because if you have what would you really want to 179 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: try and prevent when you're building a landfill or operating 180 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: landfill is um leakage and seepage. That was like that 181 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: that was the big thing. When the e PA came along. 182 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 1: You started saying, like, you can't just bury your trash 183 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: anywhere there's groundwater, dummies, and like, as trash decomposes, it's 184 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: not just like old coca cola and banana peals. When 185 00:11:13,480 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: those things break down and start mixing together, some really 186 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: horrific stuff like ammonia gets produced, and that gets into 187 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,839 Speaker 1: the groundwater and all of a sudden you're drinking ammonia. 188 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: That's bad for you. Yeah, that's called the it's called 189 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: leech eight is the liquid um or garbage juice is 190 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,719 Speaker 1: in other words that that's a better way to say it, 191 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: because that defines it all in one go, right, and um, 192 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: the whole point of the of the dry Tomb landfill 193 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: was to do everything you could to prevent this garbage 194 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: that you're burying from reaching the the water table. Right, 195 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,959 Speaker 1: So you study that bedrock. If it's too fractured, it's 196 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 1: not gonna work because it's going to seep into that junk. 197 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: No mines, no quarries because they probably already have broken 198 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: through the water table before they were abandoned. That's right. 199 00:11:58,040 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: But at the same time, you also need to be 200 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,160 Speaker 1: able to say wells in various points, so you can't. 201 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: The bedrock needs to allow for that as well. It's 202 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: like you're really looking for a specific area. When we 203 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 1: talked about the water flow. Of course you don't want 204 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: it flowing near wetlands or any kind of rivers or streams. 205 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,320 Speaker 1: That's a no brainer. Fresh Kills is an old marsh 206 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: land that they just filled the marshes and lakes in 207 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: with garbage. What did they name it? That is that 208 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 1: the area or like that, Kills is a Dutch word 209 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:26,600 Speaker 1: for stream. Okay, because I was about to say that's 210 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 1: like the worst name for anything totally unless it was 211 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: a butcher. But it really means fresh stream, fresh kills, charcooterie, 212 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 1: fresh stream garbage dump. Yeah, that makes sense. Now what 213 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: does kill mean stream a Dutch word because you've heard 214 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: it like fowery means really yes, that would be fish stream. 215 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,240 Speaker 1: That makes a lot more sense now fresh kills. I 216 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 1: wondered about that for years now, you know st alright, so, uh, 217 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: local wildlife, they're going to really study that to see 218 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: what kind of UM. You know, it can't be in 219 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: the area of a migrate my migratory route for birds, 220 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: or like a nesting area a k marsh like Fresh 221 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:16,160 Speaker 1: Kills landfill. That's right. And then once you figured all 222 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:18,800 Speaker 1: this out and they say, oh wait, wait, you skipped 223 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: over the historical or archaeological site. Well you already mentioned 224 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: that like Fresh Kills landfill. Okay, apparently I think it 225 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 1: was stated at all wrong. Huh. Henry David Thoreau said 226 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: that UM arrowheads were the surest crop to dig from 227 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: the ground at Fresh Kills before it was a landfill. Yeah, 228 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: so archaeological site, wet land and very close to UM, 229 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: the groundwater seeping right into it. Unbelievable. UM. And I 230 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: believe there was a large bunny rabbit population that they 231 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: just dumped it right on top of UM. So once 232 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: you figured out this is not Fresh Kills is actually 233 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,080 Speaker 1: a great spot, you're gonna get your permits you and 234 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:03,480 Speaker 1: raise your money. UM. This one in North Carolina costs 235 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 1: about nineteen million to build cheap. That seems a little cheap, 236 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: but I don't think that one's brand new. Yeah, that's 237 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:12,719 Speaker 1: probably from the nineties, and then you probably have a 238 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: public vote because you're probably gonna be using public dollars 239 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,200 Speaker 1: and no one will know that that vote takes place, 240 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: and you're going to get a landfill built. Boom. Yeah, 241 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 1: they just build it in the night. All right. So 242 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: let's take a little break here and we will talk 243 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: about building that landfill right for this. All right, So 244 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,960 Speaker 1: you've got your permits, you've got your money raised, it's 245 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 1: time to build a landfill. Yeah, you shouted down the 246 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: old guy at the board of come a shioner's meeting. 247 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: Who objects, old man, McLean the tree hugger. Let's recycle 248 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:13,120 Speaker 1: all our garbage, crack pot. So we will list the 249 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: basic parts of a landfill and then go over them 250 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: in detail. How's that sound. It sounds like a bulleted list. 251 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: You've got the bottom liner system, you've got the cells, 252 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 1: you've got the storm water drainage, you've got the leech 253 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: eight collection system a K garbage juice methane collection system, 254 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: and you've got the cap the covering. Actually, that's the 255 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: opposite of what you want to happen with the cap 256 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: covering system. You don't want to kaboom. So start with 257 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 1: the bottom liner man. Again, this is the original purpose 258 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: of all landfills that are in use today, unless they're bioreactor. 259 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: Although it's it's part of it. But this dry tomb landfill, Uh, 260 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 1: it's the main part is the bottom liner. So they 261 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 1: use a very thick like um sometimes a hundred million 262 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: millimeter thick, very sturdy like polyethylene liner synthetic plastic that 263 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: they line the whole place with, puncture resistant, strong able 264 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: to withstand a lot of trash being dumped on it. 265 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:20,640 Speaker 1: And just to be a certain they'll often use some 266 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: sort of like um fabric matt that they'll lay down 267 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:28,880 Speaker 1: first and then put the the the liner on and 268 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: then put another mat on top of that to help 269 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: prevent it from being punctured by rocks or garbage. Rocks 270 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 1: below or garbage above. Everything's trying to puncture this mat. Yeah, 271 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 1: it's a moisture barrier, right, But that liner is the 272 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:47,200 Speaker 1: main component, the the initial component of the landfill. That's right. Next, 273 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: we have our cell, and a cell is basically the 274 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: day's garbage. Yeah, it's the day's garbage that you dump 275 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: in there. Um, you compacted airspace is is key. That's 276 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: where uh, the more airspace you have the more trash 277 00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,439 Speaker 1: you can bury, so they want to keep it as 278 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: compact as possible. And they do this by rolling over 279 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 1: it with bulldozers and flatteners and rollers and graters, and 280 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,920 Speaker 1: they smush it down. And a cell is um, it's 281 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: a it's a it's a hole in the ground. Apparently 282 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,680 Speaker 1: in the North Carolina landfill that how stuff works went 283 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,400 Speaker 1: to back in the day. A cell is fifty ft long, 284 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,639 Speaker 1: fifty ft wide, fourteen ft deep, and all the trash 285 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 1: is put in there. Like you said, there's heavy equipment 286 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,160 Speaker 1: that rolls over and compacts it. And did you read 287 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: the Atlantic um article I sent you about Pointe Hills. 288 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: They said that there's an added benefit of compacting trash. 289 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: Not just doesn't take up less space, it also kills 290 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,840 Speaker 1: about fifty of the rats in there. Oh good. And 291 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 1: then at the end of the day, when the cell 292 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:56,159 Speaker 1: is filled, they cover it over with about six inches 293 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:58,479 Speaker 1: of dirt that they then compact. That kills the other 294 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: fifty of rats where the other half goes. And that 295 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: makes that type of landfill what's called the sanitary landfill, 296 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: which means rat free, because they're all dead, they're squished, 297 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: or they're suffocated by this process of compacting and covering 298 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: over and the By covering over this stuff every day, 299 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: you protected from being blown away by the wind, by 300 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,160 Speaker 1: being carried away from by the rain. You protected from 301 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: being dug up by coyotes or trash scavengers. Right. Um, 302 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:31,399 Speaker 1: and so that's what makes it a sanitary, dry tomb 303 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: landfill is what we've described so far. That's right. And 304 00:18:35,119 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 1: to get this thing as compact as possible, they're gonna 305 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 1: weed out things like that huge roll of carpet that 306 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: you took out of your uh, nineteen seventies bedroom, or 307 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:48,119 Speaker 1: that mattress that has a you know, brown stained like 308 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,880 Speaker 1: looks like the map of Asia from the sixteen hundreds, right, 309 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: because you raised that one Lady from Hell, raiser from 310 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 1: the dead. Yeah, so we're gonna take out all that 311 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 1: stuff and make it um you know, all the yard 312 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: ways to make it as compactable as possible. And then 313 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:05,400 Speaker 1: um that is compacted at a rate depending on where 314 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,159 Speaker 1: you are, about pounds for cubic yard. Yes, so boom, 315 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,639 Speaker 1: flat dirt is over it now, and now we need 316 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:17,120 Speaker 1: to worry about drainage. Yeah. Basically, once you created that cell, 317 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: you've just completed a portion of the landfill. Right, yes, 318 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: for the day, um, one day's trash. It's so weird, 319 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 1: it's like yours Tuesday's whole, right, sixty five days a 320 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,640 Speaker 1: year and those well, those UM the Points Hills people 321 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:35,600 Speaker 1: in that Atlantic article, we're saying that they in retrospect 322 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 1: figured out that they could have predicted the economic crisis 323 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,400 Speaker 1: because about a little less than a year before it happened, 324 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:46,440 Speaker 1: the UM they would fill up their days cell by 325 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: like one pm and closed. Now they stay up until 326 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:52,639 Speaker 1: five and it's not even necessarily full. So they know 327 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 1: it's like a huge downturn in building materials and consumer waste. UM, 328 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,200 Speaker 1: like a year or two before where the actual crisis 329 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: happened before they collapse. Well, you know what the the 330 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:06,960 Speaker 1: old saying, if you want to know the state of 331 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: the country's economics, go to a landfill. It's a good thing. 332 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: That's what I think. Jimmy Carter first said that. So 333 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,640 Speaker 1: you don't want liquids in that solid waste as much 334 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,680 Speaker 1: as possible, So they test the solid waste for liquids, 335 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: and um, if it's not liquid, then it's fine to 336 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,680 Speaker 1: go in the hole, right, So they put that in there, 337 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:29,840 Speaker 1: and the other way that they want to keep liquids out. 338 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,479 Speaker 1: And again, what they're doing is trying to prevent garbage 339 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: juice from forming. That's right, is to um have storm 340 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: raw storm, water, runoff, drainage going on, so all of 341 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: the First of all, you never want a flat landfill. Ever, 342 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: you want to mount it at least slightly. You never 343 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:52,640 Speaker 1: want a plateau um, and so you want the water 344 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: to run off, and then when it runs off, you 345 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,360 Speaker 1: want to collect it into pipes. You want to basically 346 00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:58,360 Speaker 1: create an eves system like you have on the roof 347 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: of your house, and then shoot it all down to 348 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,360 Speaker 1: some concrete gulches or if French strains at your house 349 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: roos shepparls. What else? Uh gutters yeah, habitasher right, um, 350 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:18,800 Speaker 1: and all that goes to a collection pond. That's right. Uh, 351 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: this is not the kind of thing you want to 352 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:24,200 Speaker 1: swim in. What they wait for there is for um 353 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: the suspended particles to kind of settle on the bottom, 354 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 1: and then they will test the water for those the 355 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:34,560 Speaker 1: garbage juice, and depending on how nasty it is and 356 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,280 Speaker 1: riddled with chemicals, they'll go from there. They may um 357 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: treat it like regular wastewater. Well that depends like if 358 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: they if just the storm water shows some leech, they'll 359 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:48,160 Speaker 1: send it to a leech a collection pond. If it's 360 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: if it turns out to just be normal stormwater, then 361 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: they'll let it flow out of there. That's trying to 362 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,640 Speaker 1: like whatever river or whatever. Yeah, and sometimes it's gravity. 363 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,000 Speaker 1: Sometimes they use a pump. It depends on the lay 364 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: of the land. But if it's leech, they have a 365 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: separate collect collection system for leachate. Yes, which is um 366 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:10,240 Speaker 1: basically perforated pipes that are running through the cells and 367 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,199 Speaker 1: the leach it is gonna happen, Like they try and 368 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,880 Speaker 1: prevent it as much as possible, but there is no 369 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 1: hole in the ground where you're not gonna have any 370 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: garbage juice right exactly. Um, So they collect that garbage 371 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 1: juice as it's forming, and they run it out to 372 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,400 Speaker 1: a separate collection pond that's the leech a collection pod. 373 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: And if you don't want to swim in the stormwater 374 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 1: collection pond, like you don't even want to look at 375 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: the leech collection pod. So again they let the particles settle, 376 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: they test the concentration of the leech a in the pond, 377 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,919 Speaker 1: and then they send it either to an on site 378 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: uh water remediation system like a wastewater plant, or else 379 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 1: they send it to like the local city or county 380 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,239 Speaker 1: wastewater plant for treatment. Yeah, boy, we gotta do one 381 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: in wastewater treatment at some point. You got to talk 382 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 1: about fascinating you poop in the water and eventually water. 383 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: It's pretty remarkable of what we've learned to do. Uh 384 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,520 Speaker 1: you know yep. So Uh. The other big thing that 385 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: we mentioned earlier was methane, and that is a byproduct 386 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:19,240 Speaker 1: that's a gaseous byproduct um of anaerobic decomposition. And about 387 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: fifty of your your gases coming out of this thing. 388 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 1: We're going to be a methane about carbon dioxide and 389 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:28,080 Speaker 1: they say a little bit of nitrone, little bit of oxygen. 390 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 1: I guess not even enough to be a percentage point, 391 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: almost negligible. So methane is um can be dangerous and hazardous, 392 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:39,400 Speaker 1: but it can also be very useful. So these days 393 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,639 Speaker 1: they're finding ways to harness this methane and use it 394 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: as fuel, right, which is pretty great. Yeah, it is 395 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,240 Speaker 1: very great, and actually there's a lot of money in 396 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: it they're finding too, especially if you go to the 397 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: trouble of building an on site power plant where you 398 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: just basically extract the methane from the landfill gas l 399 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:58,880 Speaker 1: f G is what it's called. And then you burn 400 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: the methane. You pow. You can create electricity. Right, you 401 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,000 Speaker 1: can power a turbine and boom, there's electricity being produced. 402 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: And actually at Fresh Kills, New York City gets ten 403 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,359 Speaker 1: million bucks a year from a company that has exclusive 404 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 1: rights to extract the methane from this place. It's pretty great. 405 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:17,600 Speaker 1: Ten million. That's not something it needs that UM and Lincoln, 406 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:21,120 Speaker 1: Nebraska did a pilot study in two thousand and ten 407 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,440 Speaker 1: and found that they could make about three hundred thousand 408 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 1: dollars a year from methane collection from their landfill. That's awesome. 409 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: So if you're a city that's trying to like figure 410 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: out ways to at least keep your landfill open, methane 411 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,440 Speaker 1: collection I call my my worst days l f G. 412 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:42,160 Speaker 1: Actually when I have landfill gas, it's the worst worst. 413 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,720 Speaker 1: Uh So, then you've got your covering and your or 414 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 1: your cap is the final piece of the puzzle here 415 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: and UM it depends on what kind of a landfill 416 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: it is. Generally it's going to be covered with six 417 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,640 Speaker 1: inches at least of compacted soil. And that's to keep 418 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: you know, rats and stuff out the ones that aren't 419 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: killed and getting back into the trash. But um, like 420 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:08,679 Speaker 1: we said earlier, airspace is key. So like six six inches, 421 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: if they could find a way to make that one inch, 422 00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: that would be much better. And so they've been experimenting 423 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 1: with that too, like UM paper or submit emulsions instead 424 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,640 Speaker 1: that you just spray on top instead of that six 425 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,479 Speaker 1: inches of soils like a quarter inch. Yeah, and then 426 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,200 Speaker 1: all of a sudden you have five and three quarters 427 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,360 Speaker 1: extra inches for trash, straight inches for more trash. That's 428 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:32,360 Speaker 1: a lot man speaking about this, which we are right 429 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 1: now absolutely uh. And then eventually though, when you it 430 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,600 Speaker 1: will have a permanent cap um some sort of polyethylene 431 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 1: cap on top. And so even after it's closed, that 432 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,679 Speaker 1: points hills Um landfill outside of l A that was 433 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,880 Speaker 1: the focus of the Atlantic article or fresh kills out 434 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,800 Speaker 1: in New York when that when it's closed, you don't 435 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: just walk away from a landfill. You plant stuff on it. Well, yes, 436 00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: you have to plant stuff on it because when you 437 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,840 Speaker 1: cover it over with dirt, you want to plant something 438 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,880 Speaker 1: with um, a low roots system that won't go into 439 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: the landfill, but we'll still hold the dirt and place 440 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: to prevent it from a roading. So like grass cut zoo, 441 00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:13,919 Speaker 1: not trees. I don't want to plant trees. But you 442 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: also have to stick around and leave some people behind 443 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 1: to monitor the groundwater for temperature changes. Change in temperature 444 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: suggests that it's um. There's leachate that's intruded. Yeah. Sometimes 445 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: you can see the leech seeping up through the ground, 446 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 1: and that means that there's you need to address an issue. 447 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,159 Speaker 1: It looks like the Beverly Hillbillies thing where Jed shot 448 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 1: and missed that rabbit and instead oil comes up. That's 449 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: what leech kind of looks like, bubbles up. But you 450 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,480 Speaker 1: have to keep an eye on this place for decades 451 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: and decades and decades. Yeah, I think they sit in 452 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:52,040 Speaker 1: here like thirty years. It needs to be maintained and 453 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:55,199 Speaker 1: monitored at least at least I think that's definitely in 454 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,479 Speaker 1: the line. So we'll talk a little more about UM 455 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: operating a landfill and how to well, I guess alternatives 456 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:04,880 Speaker 1: lamb fills is a way to put it. Yeah, right 457 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 1: after this, So Chuck, let's say you are Tommy Landfill 458 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: and you want to fulfill your birthright and open your 459 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,200 Speaker 1: own landfill, Tommy Landfill. And you got everything all set. 460 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 1: You got the municipal bonds. Old man, what was it, McTavish, mcvain, 461 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,160 Speaker 1: something like that, McLean McClean. He he's been shouted down. 462 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 1: You've got the place open. How are you going to 463 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,199 Speaker 1: operate a day to day? Well, what you're gonna do 464 00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: is it's gonna be open to a couple of different things. 465 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: It's going to be open to the um municipality that 466 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,920 Speaker 1: collects the trash. Of course, it's gonna be open to 467 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:04,199 Speaker 1: militian companies, construction companies, and many of them, including the 468 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:08,320 Speaker 1: one I go to, is open to you and me. Okay, um, so, 469 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:10,640 Speaker 1: let's say I'm doing work on my house, which I've done, 470 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 1: and I end up with a bunch of junk in 471 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: the back of my pickup truck. I think it's called 472 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,359 Speaker 1: construction waste. Yes, construction debris, which I try and re 473 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:19,959 Speaker 1: use as much as I can. But you still end 474 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,680 Speaker 1: up with construction debris. Did we do like a green 475 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:27,119 Speaker 1: Renovation episode? Once? Yeah? I think so, And um, I 476 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:29,960 Speaker 1: will drive my truck out there to the landfill into 477 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: Cab County and I will drive up onto a platform. 478 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 1: Is the first very first thing you do with a 479 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:37,760 Speaker 1: it's a way station. Does it make you go up 480 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: on two wheels? And then you drive through the landfills 481 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: just on two wheels, off the stuck carn um. Then 482 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: you drive up on the way station and they weigh 483 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 1: your truck or your car or whatever with full of trash. 484 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: You go dump it. There's gonna be various stations. Um, 485 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:58,080 Speaker 1: there's like a recycling station. There's a here's where a 486 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,160 Speaker 1: yard waste goes. Kissing boo, just a kissing booth. Uh, 487 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:08,200 Speaker 1: there's a dunk tank, you know, the traditional Catholic school 488 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:12,240 Speaker 1: carnival um at the one into Capp County there's actually 489 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: free mulch and um compost if you want to pick 490 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: up stuff, which is kind of neat. But then eventually 491 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,480 Speaker 1: you will be directed to, uh, here is your dump 492 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,600 Speaker 1: and I pull up my truck at dump it in 493 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 1: a big dumpster. Then that dumpster has then taken to 494 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: the cell. I imagine I don't follow the route, but 495 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 1: that's what's supposed to happen. Does it make that bugs 496 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: Bunny conveyor belt song? Yes, someone wrote in and had 497 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,640 Speaker 1: a bunch of song was Powerhouse. Yeah, Powerhouse. If you 498 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,200 Speaker 1: look up, was that the one that you were thinking, Yes, totally. Um. 499 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,040 Speaker 1: I can't remember the composer's name, but it was the 500 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,200 Speaker 1: twentieth century composer who I think it was a old man. 501 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 1: It was something something Quintet. Yeah, I can't remember the 502 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: guy's name, but anyway, look up to something something Quintet, powerhouse, 503 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,120 Speaker 1: and then I think it starts about Oh my us 504 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:01,640 Speaker 1: a minute and a half in you'll be like, yeah, 505 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:06,880 Speaker 1: that's it, ye dat dude, d d D you know 506 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:08,600 Speaker 1: what I'm talking about. Yeah. Absolutely, when I heard it, it 507 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:14,480 Speaker 1: it was unmistakably looney Tunes. So I dump on my garbage, um, 508 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 1: and then I drive back out onto another platform, and 509 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 1: then they rewagh my truck. They do the math, and 510 00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 1: then when they weigh it, um, they charge you a 511 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: tipping fee yeah, which is usually a per ton amount, 512 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: right yeah, and so you know it's not that much money. 513 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,719 Speaker 1: Like I'll have a truck full of junk, go dump it, 514 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:36,000 Speaker 1: and then it's like ten or twelve bucks. Of course, 515 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 1: it depends on how heavy the junk is, but in 516 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 1: my case, it was always you know, uh, light wood 517 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: and stuff like that. That I couldn't reuse nails. So 518 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,120 Speaker 1: that's that's basically everything we just described as a dry 519 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:54,360 Speaker 1: tomb landfill, right, that's right. But as as UM companies 520 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:58,120 Speaker 1: like waste management and local municipalies have figured out, like, hey, 521 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: there's actually money in this rotting garbage. They've been looking 522 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 1: into ways to get more methane out of it. And 523 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 1: what they figured out is that you don't want a 524 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: dry tomb. You want to kind of moist a little 525 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:16,160 Speaker 1: wet to moisture. Yeah, I was really surprised that this 526 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:19,600 Speaker 1: isn't how it's done by now, because you can They said, 527 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 1: you know, what could take decades and a dry tomb 528 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 1: to break down, you can take just a few years 529 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 1: if you just add a little water, just a little 530 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,400 Speaker 1: bit of water, Like there's already about ten to fifteen 531 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: percent moisture in a dry tomb, no matter how much 532 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,400 Speaker 1: you try to keep it out, there's gonna be about 533 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 1: ten to They figured out that if you add another water, 534 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: you're going to greatly increase anaerobic um decomposition and it 535 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: can be leech aated. It's not like they have have 536 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 1: spring water exactly. It can be that stormwater you're collecting 537 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 1: it can be leech eight um, it can be gas 538 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: condensation from the gas that's coming off, and and basically 539 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,800 Speaker 1: what you're doing is you're speeding up that anaerobic decomposition 540 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 1: that's already going on. So these things are breaking down 541 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: the organic stuff, the banana peals and the grass clippings 542 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 1: and all that stuff that's already in there. They're not 543 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,400 Speaker 1: breaking down the styrofoam, at least not very quickly, so 544 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: that stuff is still going to be left behind. But 545 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:17,920 Speaker 1: that's kind of that bury and walk awayte mentality as well. Still, 546 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: but at least the the density of your um landfill 547 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 1: is going to increase tremendously as all that other stuff decomposes, 548 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 1: and you're gonna have the added benefit of a lot 549 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,040 Speaker 1: more methane production. Yeah, and a lot more methane and 550 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: a lot shorter time span. So what they've had to do, 551 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:41,040 Speaker 1: because this is basically accelerated production, is create collection systems 552 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 1: that can handle They can't just throw the old methane 553 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 1: collection system in there that's used to collecting slowly, but 554 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,440 Speaker 1: surely they have to do something collect a lot and 555 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: a little bit of time. Yeah, because they used to 556 00:32:51,320 --> 00:32:54,000 Speaker 1: collect the methane and that they would harvest it and 557 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,560 Speaker 1: then burn it, which is sounds horrible because you're just 558 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: releasing all that stuff into the atmosphere, But it's better 559 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 1: than just vending it. Just vending methane. Methane is a 560 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: um much more potent greenhouse gas than even like c 561 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,200 Speaker 1: O two like by far, so you don't want to 562 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 1: just vent that stuff, so you burn it off. But 563 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 1: even better is if you're going to burn it, at 564 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:19,719 Speaker 1: least use it to power stuff. So by adding just 565 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 1: a little bit of water you can create this. You 566 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:26,959 Speaker 1: can accelerate the anaerobic decomposition. And since the anaerobic decomposition 567 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:32,760 Speaker 1: is what makes the landfill like a moving, living, evolving pile, 568 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: once that's done in ten years, you've got all the 569 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 1: methane you're going to get from it, the things that 570 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:42,120 Speaker 1: can settle anymore, and you can walk away without monitoring 571 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: it for the next fifty years. Yeah. So the bioreactor 572 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 1: model seems like far and away the wave of the future, 573 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: right for sure. Um, I guess it's just a matter 574 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:54,840 Speaker 1: of like building more of them. Yes, so we got 575 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: a couple of more things here before we close. For sure, 576 00:33:57,520 --> 00:33:59,880 Speaker 1: this is very interesting. One Neto thing that I didn't 577 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,680 Speaker 1: I think I knew about Giant Stadium, but I didn't 578 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:05,720 Speaker 1: know that. I just heard Jimmy Hoff was buried there. Well, 579 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:07,960 Speaker 1: he might have just been in the in the landfill. 580 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 1: Apparently some sports arenas like Kemiskey in Chicago, Mile Haun 581 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:15,960 Speaker 1: Stadium in Denver, Giant Stadium in New Jersey built on 582 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:22,000 Speaker 1: landfills because they're cheap, cheap land and some speculation that 583 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,759 Speaker 1: it might give athletes cancer. Yeah, apparently there are a 584 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:30,000 Speaker 1: lot of Giants players are several um that came down 585 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,120 Speaker 1: with cancer that one of the linebackers, Harry Carson, told 586 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:36,160 Speaker 1: The New York Times, Um, it makes you wonder what's 587 00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:38,520 Speaker 1: going on around here, referencing the fact that it was 588 00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:41,719 Speaker 1: built on an old landfill. Yeah. And apparently there was 589 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: a game at Kemiskey Park in Chicago where there was 590 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:51,239 Speaker 1: a I think a short stop like ran into a 591 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:55,640 Speaker 1: piece of metal sticking up from the diamond and like 592 00:34:55,719 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: started like kicking away and didn't realized it was getting 593 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:01,840 Speaker 1: bigger and bigger, and the ground crew came out and investigated, 594 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:04,800 Speaker 1: and it was Jimmy hoffa right, It was a copper 595 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,200 Speaker 1: cuttle from the landfill they had moved its way up. 596 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:10,319 Speaker 1: Isn't that crazy? Yeah, so they had to dig it 597 00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:13,360 Speaker 1: up and then refill it. Unbelievable. I'm sure that was 598 00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:17,440 Speaker 1: a lovely break for the fans. Yes, because around so 599 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:21,880 Speaker 1: fast moving that they needed they needed to breathe. Uh. 600 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,400 Speaker 1: I read an article on Slate called go West garbage 601 00:35:25,440 --> 00:35:30,080 Speaker 1: can exclamation point, and the main gist of it is, 602 00:35:31,400 --> 00:35:33,600 Speaker 1: when are we going to run out of space? It's 603 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 1: a great question. You can't keep bearing trash right? Um? 604 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: Apparently you can, because what they're doing now is there 605 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:44,680 Speaker 1: there are fewer landfills than ever before. They're making these 606 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:50,600 Speaker 1: huge landfills. Yeah, in nine six there were close to 607 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 1: seventy dumps in the US, and by two thousand nine 608 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 1: there were just under two thousand. Decline in less than 609 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:02,000 Speaker 1: twenty five years, and so essentially what they're creating of 610 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:07,000 Speaker 1: these super landfills. Um, which is kind of cool, fewer landfills, right, 611 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:14,680 Speaker 1: But what's the problem, Um, do you know stinkier landfills? 612 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:18,840 Speaker 1: What the problem is is you're now trucking garbage sometimes 613 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,120 Speaker 1: five miles away to dump in the landfill because your 614 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,879 Speaker 1: state may not even have one. So then they're looking 615 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:27,040 Speaker 1: at you know, how much c O two is used 616 00:36:27,040 --> 00:36:30,480 Speaker 1: to do that. Um, like, is it really greener to 617 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 1: have fewer landfills and truck your garbage on a train 618 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 1: or in a truck every day? Uh? And they basically 619 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:41,440 Speaker 1: say they don't really know which is which is more 620 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:45,640 Speaker 1: environmentally friendly. Um, in different states, apparently there's a lot 621 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:49,120 Speaker 1: of money in it. Different states have way more room 622 00:36:49,239 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: than others. And then some states don't even want that stuff. 623 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,880 Speaker 1: Of course in the Northeast, like Massachusetts are like, we 624 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:59,399 Speaker 1: don't want landfills than our state, Rhode Island. Same way 625 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:02,759 Speaker 1: they send a to Springfield, they send it to Kentucky. Well, no, 626 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:07,560 Speaker 1: remember the Trash Commissioner episode. Yeah, he accepted other states 627 00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:11,799 Speaker 1: to waste. Yeah, that's exactly what's happening. Um, let me see, 628 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:15,520 Speaker 1: Arkansas has enough capacity for more than six hundred years 629 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:18,799 Speaker 1: of trash without any more facilities being opened. There you go, 630 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 1: We'll just send it all to Arkansas, whereas Rhode Island 631 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,759 Speaker 1: only has twelve years remaining. New York State only has 632 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:28,000 Speaker 1: twenty five years of capacity left. Send it to Arkansas. 633 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:32,440 Speaker 1: So that's what they're doing. Um, Kentucky is ty dollars 634 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:36,320 Speaker 1: per Ton making about six billion dollars a year, Ohio 635 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:40,719 Speaker 1: twenty one billion dollars a year of available landfill spaces 636 00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:44,320 Speaker 1: because Ohio knows how to negotiate. That's right, the Buckeye State, 637 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:49,400 Speaker 1: that's right. Don't tread on me White, that's New Hampshire Party. 638 00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:53,200 Speaker 1: I think it's either New Hampshire Vermont, one of those. 639 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:56,359 Speaker 1: You know New Hampshire's is lived for your die right 640 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,160 Speaker 1: and make their inmates make those license plates. Yeah. No, 641 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:00,960 Speaker 1: don't tread on me was in a state motto. And 642 00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:03,279 Speaker 1: I think that was just flag with the cut up 643 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:07,080 Speaker 1: snake right that the Tea Party adopted. Remember did they 644 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,120 Speaker 1: adopt that? Yeah? So yeah. If you see a bumper 645 00:38:10,200 --> 00:38:12,319 Speaker 1: sticker with one of those flags on it, they're not 646 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:14,400 Speaker 1: just like a history buff or anything. Yeah. Or if 647 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:17,759 Speaker 1: it says who was John Galt? Yeah, and that that 648 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,000 Speaker 1: that'll tell you something about the driver of that vehicle. 649 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,600 Speaker 1: Was that a Tom Cruise movie? No, John Galt was 650 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,839 Speaker 1: the main character, and Atlas shrugged. Oh yeah, I ran, 651 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:29,120 Speaker 1: I'm thinking of Jack Reacher. If you want to know 652 00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:31,960 Speaker 1: more about landfills, you can type that word into the 653 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: search bar how stuff works dot com And uh, I 654 00:38:34,600 --> 00:38:38,839 Speaker 1: said search bar. So it's time for listener mail I'm 655 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:45,040 Speaker 1: gonna call this, uh, very sad email, but uplifting at 656 00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:47,760 Speaker 1: the same time. Hey, guys, two weeks ago, my amazing 657 00:38:47,760 --> 00:38:50,759 Speaker 1: and wonderful father in law, Walter passed away. We had 658 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,160 Speaker 1: to drop everything, my husband and son and I and 659 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:56,440 Speaker 1: fly from Florida to Germany, where he lived. He's been 660 00:38:56,440 --> 00:38:58,719 Speaker 1: in my world for twenty four my fifty years, and 661 00:38:58,719 --> 00:39:00,279 Speaker 1: I was so sad. I felt like I was going 662 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,240 Speaker 1: to throw up all the time. When we arrived in Germany, 663 00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,600 Speaker 1: walking through the front door of the family home without 664 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:07,200 Speaker 1: him there was one of the hardest things I've ever 665 00:39:07,239 --> 00:39:10,920 Speaker 1: had to do. It was and is devastating. My husband 666 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:13,680 Speaker 1: and youngest son and I sat in a dark days 667 00:39:13,719 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 1: for days, mixing the crying mixed with crying and feeling lost. 668 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:20,640 Speaker 1: Always listen to podcasts while I run, though, which I 669 00:39:20,719 --> 00:39:22,960 Speaker 1: do every day, And after ten days of being there 670 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,560 Speaker 1: in Germany, I finally decided to cue up one of 671 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:28,720 Speaker 1: your podcast while running. It was Blood Types. I laughed 672 00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:31,920 Speaker 1: for the first time in two weeks out loud. Guys. 673 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:33,960 Speaker 1: It was so nice to laugh again, and it really 674 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:36,040 Speaker 1: opened the door for me. I realized that we as 675 00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:38,640 Speaker 1: a family are going through was so tough, but I 676 00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:40,759 Speaker 1: also started to realize that if I could laugh, then 677 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:44,000 Speaker 1: I could heal. Uh. Yesterday, my husband and I, still 678 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:47,080 Speaker 1: in Germany, decided to go uh to walk to the 679 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,239 Speaker 1: nursing home where my aunt lives, which is two and 680 00:39:50,239 --> 00:39:52,720 Speaker 1: a half hours through the forest, up and down hills. 681 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:55,560 Speaker 1: I love this family. By the way, walking to the 682 00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:58,440 Speaker 1: nursing home like that, we of course, brought our thirteen 683 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,719 Speaker 1: year old son, Oliver, who has mon After about twenty 684 00:40:00,719 --> 00:40:03,040 Speaker 1: minutes of walking, I handed on my phone and he 685 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:06,439 Speaker 1: listened to UH three Stuff you Should Know podcast along 686 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:09,560 Speaker 1: the way and is now hooked. He loves you guys. 687 00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:12,799 Speaker 1: My husband and I had a badly needed quiet, get 688 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:14,960 Speaker 1: in touch with nature walk as a result, and we 689 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:16,759 Speaker 1: didn't have to listen to our sun moan at all. 690 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:19,759 Speaker 1: Uh more, long walks are in his future as long 691 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:21,920 Speaker 1: as I have you guys on my phone. And Oliver 692 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:25,840 Speaker 1: also asked me along the walk, wait a minute, mom, 693 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:28,400 Speaker 1: These guys get paid to do this. And when I 694 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:32,840 Speaker 1: said yes, I saw a sparkle in his eye. I 695 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:36,640 Speaker 1: love this email boom that is from Jennifer and Jennifer 696 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:41,239 Speaker 1: that is awesome. I Uh those mean the most to us. Yeah, 697 00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:43,440 Speaker 1: I mean that was a great top not to email, 698 00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:45,279 Speaker 1: great email and there was more to it even I 699 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:47,759 Speaker 1: had to leave out some of it from link Jennifer right, 700 00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,960 Speaker 1: Jennifer and Oliver her Son and she doesn't even anonymous 701 00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:55,920 Speaker 1: husband anonymous husband named not But yeah, thanks a lot, Jennifer. 702 00:40:56,120 --> 00:40:58,800 Speaker 1: We appreciate you letting us know that that's a again 703 00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:01,719 Speaker 1: great email. And uh, if you out there want to 704 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:04,839 Speaker 1: let us know how we've helped you or hindered you 705 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,640 Speaker 1: or even woken you up from a deep sleep. If 706 00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 1: you're French, um, you can tweet to us at s 707 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:13,560 Speaker 1: y s K podcast. You can join us on Facebook 708 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:15,680 Speaker 1: dot com slash Stuff you Should Know. You can send 709 00:41:15,719 --> 00:41:17,919 Speaker 1: us an email to stuff podcast at how stuff Works 710 00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:20,399 Speaker 1: dot com and has always join us at our home 711 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:25,640 Speaker 1: on the web. Stuff you Should Know dot Com. Stuff 712 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:27,640 Speaker 1: you Should Know is a production of iHeart Radios How 713 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:30,399 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit 714 00:41:30,440 --> 00:41:33,120 Speaker 1: the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 715 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:34,040 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.