You know what they say : you may take the arena out of the rubbish , but you ca n’t take the trash out of the stadium . Many American sports mecca — such as Comiskey Park in Chicago , Mile High Stadium in Denver , and Giants Stadium in New Jersey — were built on top of the landfill because the country was brassy and convenient . regrettably , the past does n’t always rest buried . White Sox shortstop Luke Appling felt the spike of his skid hit metal as he was manoeuver out to his position in Comiskey Park . To his surprise , he ’d excise a with child fuzz tympanum . The biz actually had to be delayed to dig out up the kettle and then again to fill in the gaping jam near second base .
mutant accidental injury by , building on top of landfill may have serious consequences as well . Four phallus of the New York Giants developed malignant neoplastic disease during the 1980s , the tenner after the stadium was built over a dumpsite in the Meadowlands . It ’s out of the question to know whether the polluted trash below their feet was to pick , but at the time , many members of Giants felt as if their domicile field held no advantage . As linebacker Harry Carson told theNew York Timesin 1987 , " ' I do n’t roll in the hay how much more I can take of guys getting ill . It take a shit you enquire what is going on around here . “
But the trouble in New Jersey did n’t prevent the residents of Antioch , Illinois , from attempt to turn their trash into gem some year ago . With the help of the Environmental Protection Agency , the town convert its 121 - acre landfill into an acrobatic complex for the local high school , which included five soccer fields , three softball game fields , and 12 tennis courts . But that was n’t all . Antioch also tapped into the waste inside the landfill , which releases methane and other combustible gases . engine driver pip this gas into the gamy school campus , heating it all wintertime long . This ecofriendly conception trimmed the town ’s electricity bill and may even turn a profit . On nights and weekends when school is close , Antioch sell the nimiety major power back to a local utility .
Landfills By the Numbers
" ¢ Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island can be seen from space . Fresh Kills served New York City for five decades , and like many retired landfills , it will in the end become a park .
" ¢ Forget panning for Au . If you want to essay your hands at prospecting , forefront for a trash dump . One ton of trash computing equipment can carry more gold than 17 tons of gold ore .
" ¢ The number one most common thing in a landfill : Paper .
" ¢ In years to come , your gondola may run on trash juice . Engineers are perfect technique to concentrate landfill gas into clean - burning , liquid fuel . Fittingly , this fuel already powers garbage motortruck in some parts of the country .
" ¢ Wish they all could be California landfill ? The Fresno landfill , ramp up in 1937 , was the country ’s first " sanitary" landfill , in which meth is compacted and buried under a bed of dirt every Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , keeping out so-and-so . By 1945 , more than 100 cities had copied Fresno ’s model , and today it can be found worldwide . In honour of Fresno ’s influence , the landfill was named a National Historic Landmark .
