The establishment and use of landfills is a relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain way to manage a municipality's solid waste. However, the use of landfills could be very costly to health and the environment if they are not properly managed. 

There are several ways to dispose of solid waste (e.g. composting of organic material or incineration) and there are also different types of landfills.¹. Landfills that comply with environmental regulations tend to cover the soil with plastic sheeting to prevent the percolation of leachate that can carry contaminants that could harm water supplies in aquifers.^1,2which are commonly known as linners. This type of landfill is known as a sanitary landfill and is constructed by compacting layers of waste and then capping them with soil before adding the next layer.¹. Landfills that do not comply with environmental regulations do not cover the ground with plastic sheeting and do not evaluate the type of waste they receive to divert hazardous waste. These types of landfills are known as open dumps.^1,3,4.

Current status of landfills

 In Puerto Rico, landfills are mainly used to dispose of solid waste by burying it underground.⁵. As of 2008, there were 32 landfills in Puerto Rico, most of which did not comply with the regulations established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).^5,6 (EPA). There are currently 29 landfills remaining, of which 18 are not in compliance with federal regulations and there is a closure order for 11 of them.^3,7,8. Closing landfills complicates solid waste management since Puerto Rico produces between 8,000 to 9,900 tons of solid waste daily.^4,6. The passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 increased the generation of garbage reaching landfills.^3,9 in turn causing a reduction in the useful life of the landfill sites.³.

Future of waste management

The closure of landfills, the increase in garbage generation and the poor recycling system only aggravates the problem of solid waste management in Puerto Rico. Among the ideas proposed to address the problem is the expansion of existing landfills, but permits have not yet been approved and there are no personnel assigned to the project.³. Landfills have been and continue to be the only way in which the island's garbage problem has been "capped". Strategies such as increasing recycling, composting and waste diversion projects have been considered, but none, so far, have been done on a scale that will have the necessary impact on the generation of solid waste in Puerto Rico.^10,11.

References

1. 1. Vaverková, M. D. Landfill impacts on the environment- review. Geosciences 9, 1-16 (2019).
   2. Miranda, M. L. & Hale, B. Re-Covering All the Bases : A Comparison of Landfills and Resource Recovery Facilities in Puerto Rico. St. Nicholas School of the Environment (1999).
   3. Alvarado-León, G. Landfills will lose their capacity in four years. El Nuevo Día (2019).
   4. Miranda, M. L. & Hale, B. Re-Covering All the Bases : A Comparison of Landfills and Resource Recovery Facilities in Puerto Rico by. Duke Univ. Nicolas Sch. Environ. (1999).
   5. Rivera Quintana, F. E. To Extend Useful Life of Toa Baja Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (2018).
   6. Balaguer-dátiz, G. & Krishnan, N. Life cycle comparison of two options for MSW management in Puerto Rico: Thermal treatment vs. modern landfilling. in North American Waste-to-Energy Conference 141-146 (2008).
   7. NotiCel. Some landfills will be expanded and others will be closed. NotiCel (2021).
   8. Notiséis360. More than half of the island's landfills will be closed by 2022. Notiséis360 (2019).
   9. Kennedy, M. & Migaki, L. After Maria, Puerto Rico Struggles Under The Weight Of Its Own Garbage : The Two-Way. NPR News (2017).
   10. Bosman, J. A., Milano, P. J. & Adams, S. An Evaluation of the Recycling Practices on the Island of Puerto Rico (2007).
   11. Loon Chan Matthew Eckelman Sarah Percy Xizhou Zhou, K. A Characterization of the Recycling Sector in Puerto Rico.