A Socratic Seminar on
"Once and Future Landfills"*

In Mr. Reese’s Language Arts class we had a Socratic Seminar. During this seminar we discussed the article “Once and Future Landfills” by Dr. William L. Rathje. Click here for video clip.

What issues did we discuss during the Seminar?
A major issue we discussed during the seminar is that most people think landfills mostly consist of plastic, but in reality landfills only consist of about 10% plastic and 50% paper. Most people also think that materials that say they are biodegradable degrade quickly, but in fact they do not degrade anywhere near as fast as people assume. In the article we read there was newspaper still readable after being in a landfill for 30 years. This is an issue that needs to be solved.

How did we do with Seminar Goal #1?
When participating in a Seminar there are goals that you try to achieve.  The first goal is to gain a better understanding of the text.  During the seminar on “Once and Future Landfills” we gained a better understanding of the text. Now we know more about landfills and what a problem trash is.  “More than 70 percent of our trash is now being buried in 5,500 active landfills across the country; these landfills are reaching capacity, and few new ones have been approved.”  Landfills are filling up at an accelerated rate and recycling is a way to solve this problem. By recycling you are reducing the amount of trash that ends up in the landfill.  Reducing the amount of trash that ends up in a landfill will slow the time it takes for the landfill to fill.

What unexpected issues did we address?
During this seminar some unexpected issues did come up. Some of those issues were how to design a better and safe landfill. Though we came up with some ideas on how to solve problems with landfills, such as groundwater pollution and capping the landfills, we realized these ideas would only provide temporary solutions, or after further examining these ideas we found that they wouldn’t work as we hoped they would. 

Was it an effective or ineffective seminar? Explain how.
The seminar was effective because after the seminar we thought of ways to decrease the amount of trash generated around the school. Now in the lunchroom we have different trash bins for recyclable materials, food waste, and trash.  And around the school we have placed recycling bins to promote recycling in the building. By doing this, we hope to cut down the amount of trash generated at lunch.  Also, we made this website to inform others of the issue of landfills filling up.

* Rathje, William L., Once and future landfills, National Geographic, Volume 175, No. 5 (May 1991), pp 116-134.