Solid waste, the term used to describe the garbage generated by the country’s households and businesses, is most often disposed of in government-regulated landfills.  Landfills are highly regulated and the work performed at these sites is subject to strict and detailed rules. State agencies like the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency oversee the development and operation of a landfill system. The development of a landfill requires a substantial investment of land and equipment totalling millions of dollars.

A landfill is a carefully designed structure constructed in or on top of the ground in which garbage is compacted and placed.  It is divided into sections called cells, which the landfill operator develops on an as needed basis.  Cells are customarily excavating by an operating engineer utilizing heavy equipment.  The cell is then lined with protective material designed to prevent leachate - or toxic liquid which develops as the garbage becomes saturated with rain water and breaks down – from continuing groundwater.  Into each cell specific loads of waste are dumped; the waste is then covered with soil or other approved materials to prevent the spread of odors and to isolate the garbage from the surrounding environment. 

At the landfill, trucks arrive on a daily basis and are initially inspected for any prohibited materials and hazardous wastes.  For example, in Illinois, landfills are prohibited from accepting any liquids, motor oil, whole tires and landscape wastes.  If the load contains only acceptable waste, the landfill operator weighs the load and permits the truck entry to the landfill.  The truck proceeds to the working face of the active cell where it disposes of its load.  Operators at the landfill run various pieces of equipment, including scrapers, loaders, bulldozers, tub grinders, spreaders, tractors and compactors.  Operators use the compactors and dozers to move the waste, spreading and compacting it into place, and crushing it to eliminate air pockets.  They use the compactors principally to spread waste and compact it into as small an area as possible.