landfill

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A site where waste is buried in the ground for disposal.

   Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'landfill site' in British English.

   Patterns

   • a landfill site
   • at the landfill
   • to the landfill

   The city's landfill is expected to be full within five years.

   They took the old furniture to the landfill.

   Recycling reduces the amount of waste sent to landfill.

2. 2noununcountable

   The process or method of disposing of waste by burying it in the ground.

   Grammar: No plural; used as a mass noun.

   Patterns

   • go to landfill
   • sent to landfill
   • diverted from landfill

   Most of the plastic ends up in landfill.

   The company aims to send zero waste to landfill by 2030.

Word forms

Common combinations

landfill site

The new landfill site will be built outside the town.

go to landfill

If we don't recycle, more rubbish will go to landfill.

landfill gas

Landfill gas can be captured and used as energy.

landfill tax

The government introduced a landfill tax to encourage recycling.

Synonyms and how they differ

dump

A dump is an informal word for a place where waste is left, often not buried; landfill is a more technical and organized site.

tip

In British English, a tip is a place where you can take waste; it is less formal than landfill.

Word family

landfill verb

To dispose of waste by burying it in a landfill.

Commonly confused: landfill or landfall?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “landfill”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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