The term landfill is usually shorthand for a municipal landfill or sanitary landfill. These facilities were first introduced early in the 20th century, but gained wide use in the 1960s and 1970s, in an effort to eliminate open dumps and other "unsanitary" waste disposal practices.

When did landfill begin?

Landfills have existed for over 5,000 years. Archaeological evidence of landfills dates back to 3000 BC in Crete, where waste was deposited in pits that were subsequently covered up with earth when full.

How was garbage collected in the late 1800s?

It was not until the mid-1800s that many households began to practice more discrete trash disposal, such as the use of specially-dug pits located in remote areas of the yard. Until then, Americans threw their trash wherever was most convenient.