I Want To Reclaim a Landfill
I figure it’s going to take a while. That’s okay though because I’ve already dedicated 4 years to a pipe dream. Might as well do something that benefits society.
Land fills are remnants of our destructive ways. I’ve been dumpster diving since I was a kid. Surely there’s a way to mine out all the old garbage, convert most of it into useful products and convert the space into a livable habitat, or at the very least, a space that nature can reclaim. Colorado already has initiatives to clean up abandoned landfills. I think it’s time for civilians to get in on the action. More of the plan will be published as I have time to update. As it turns out the organization we probably want to get in touch with is SWANA. This is really exciting stuff people. Waste repurposing is crucial to a sustainable future is we wish to keep consuming at such a rate.
Teams!
We all know the saying. “team work makes the dream work”
People keep saying the human monkey sphere can fit about 150 people. I say you could fit as many as 240. If you could turn a landfill into a healthy community 240 strong, that would be freakin impressive. Idk if you could fit that many people onto on landfill. They’re honestly not as big as I thought. Maybe you wouldn’t need so many people. That being said I think we could all learn a thing or two about
Plastics!
There’s a great website called precious plastics that’s got plenty of info for people who want to make cool stuff out of recycled plastic, of which there will be plenty.
Glass!
I don’t know much about this but it’ll be there for sure. As grandmaster flash once nobly said “Broken Glass Everywhere”
Metal!
This is possibly the most exciting. Who knows what you’ll find!!
Heavy Metals!
These are in electronics and batteries and will kill you if handled improperly. I think we can avoid that by taking the proper precautions. This is about people living in harmony with nature not taking unnecessary risks to get the job done faster.
Bio Hazardous Waste!
My friends and I found a heroin needle while picking up trash on the side of the road. If we were to clean out a landfill, you can be sure to find needles, diapers, tampons, used condoms, dildos, medications, illicit substances, food waste, animal waste, Dead everything (I’m not ruling out people, true crime podcasters listen up)
Radioactive waste!
I don’t know what we’re up against. Plus nuclear power is oddly sustainable if you can make it safe. which brings us to
Renewable Energy!
yay now we’re at the fun part. Setting up an electrical grid will get everything moving
Architecture!
If we’re gonna have 240 people living there we’ll need a place for them to stay, probably a gym, community centers, a medical facility, a few lounges/lodges, general store/ co-op, and maybe even a laundromat, All that stuff is gonna need plumbing and heating while maintaining a design that infringes as little as possible on nature. sounds like fun to me.
Construction!
We all know that you can learn how to do anything on youtube, but there’s nothing like the experience that comes with filling out countless permit requests. Any job worth doing is worth doing right and we’re going to need people who know what that entails.
Food!
Everybody needs some and the more we grow ourselves, the more we’ll get to know the land. Also, an on site plant factory would be awesome but that adds a strain on the energy, architecture, and construction people.
Servers!
Honestly data hosting and ecoin mining would be the most realistic way to perpetually fund this.
Web design!
as much as I love squarespace we should have a nice, professional, homegrown, website.
Robotics!
We’re dealing with dangerous stuff. It would be nice to have a little help. Also theoretically you could hook the robots up to the internet and get others involved in world improvement. I’d play that game
Biotech!
Fun new bacteria and algae to help break down the hazardous materials. Also, I know this is some evil villian shit, but glowing cats would be so cool.
Medical Practices!
Accidents happen.
Wellness!
Stress is inevitable. Remember we’re talking about cleaning up a landfill, largely playing it by ear, with the best of intentions, over the the course of two decades. We’re going to have to be giving a whole lot of mental checkups, positive affirmation, and physical presence.
Fun!!!
If this gets too hard everyone will give up and this isn’t a work cult. We’re all seeking a better future and that doesn’t have to mean a life of soulless drudgery.
Alternate Economic and Political Strategies!
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all get along? Wouldn’t it be great if leaders didn’t get corrupt? Sure can be, but it’s gonna take a lot of effort in the meantime. Especially seeing as how people will probably come in and out of the project, when it comes time to settle down, “who gets what” is going to cause a lot of strife without a solid plan in place.