landfilln.adj.v.
/ˈlan(d)fɪl/, U.S. /ˈlæn(d)ˌfɪl/ Originally U.S.
A. n.
1. A site where refuse is disposed of by burial under layers of earth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > place for disposing of refuse > landfill site
landfill1903
landfill site1967
1903 Scribner's Mag. Oct. 395/2 Before 1902 the ashes and rubbish of the city of New York were disposed of upon landfills...The landfills were those of private contractors, who bought marsh lands on speculation and filled them with city material.
1931 Ann. Rep. N.Y. City Dept. Sanitation 1931 76 Ten new ‘Bulldozer’ caterpillar tractors were purchased for ‘leveling off’ at the land fills.
1968 Proc. Amer. Soc. Civil Engineers 94 SA 2 Apr. (title) Water movement in an unsaturated sanitary landfill.
1970 Wall St. Jrnl. 23 June 1/6 The garbage would be kept out of incinerators and landfills.
1985 Sci. Amer. July 50 a/2 In the process PCB's have..been disposed of in open landfills.
1990 Green Mag. Apr. 24/3 There is..increased concern for the health of people living near landfills and incinerators.
2. The action or system of disposing of refuse by burial at such a site.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > systems of
landfill1938
landfilling1983
1938 Engin. News-Record 1 Sept. 270/2 The origin of the present technique of land fill goes back to the time, two years ago, when William F. Casey took over the duties of Commissioner of Sanitation.
1942 A. Wolman et al. Rep. to Comm. on City Plan City of Baltimore iv. 38/1 Certain American cities, notably New York, have had marked success in the use of the so-called sanitary or land fill for rubbish disposal.
1971 Guardian 11 Oct. 3/6 Land~fill is considered one of the most economical ways to dispose of refuse.
1973 Bulletin (Sydney) 25 Aug. 9/2 (advt.) A carefully-engineered program called sanitary landfill.
1984 J. Updike Witches of Eastwick ii. 132 She wants you put in jail..for unauthorized landfill.
3. Material disposed of at such a site; material used to level an excavated site, etc. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > refuse or rubbish > [noun] > disposed of at landfill site
landfill1969
society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > [noun] > material for other specific purposes
screen cloth1603
wadding1627
heading1650
fusive1678
graving stuff1702
pounce1728
railing1740
retarder1753
seating1790
shelving1817
bending1823
shafting1825
wedging1825
rubber sheet1842
facing1843
piston packing1857
sheathing1859
screeding1864
paint1875
sleeving1923
landfill1969
presoak1969
1969 New Yorker 17 May 131/2 We intend to put a lot of landfill in the Credibility Gap.
1970 Nat. Hist. Feb. 18/3 Philadelphia is now packaging its trash,..shipping the material back to the strip mines as land fill.
1984 A. C. Duxbury & A. Duxbury Introd. World's Oceans ii. 62 Sand and gravel used in cement and concrete for..landfill.
1991 Flight Internat. 9 Oct. 42/3 The..tiny island of Chek Lap Kok will be levelled, and the rock used as landfill to create a platform for the airport.
B. adj. (only attributive).
Of, pertaining to, or resulting from the disposal of refuse at a landfill; frequently in landfill site.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [adjective] > systems of
landfill1938
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > place for disposing of refuse > landfill site
landfill1903
landfill site1967
1938 Engin. News-Record 1 Sept. 273/2 The low cost of the land fill method is the chief argument for its use.
1942 in Sun (Baltimore) (1944) 10 Feb. 8/1 The so-called sanitary or land fill system.
1953 Richmond (Va.) News-leader 2 Sept. 21 A bulldozer struck water in the landfill dump area.
1967 Boston Sunday Globe 23 Apr. 20/3 By 1970, it is expected that the majority of the area's dumps and landfill sites will be filled to capacity.
1971 Pollution (Greater London Council) 8 The Greater London Council..operates a code of practice for good management of landfill sites under its own control.
1978 Detroit Free Press 14 Apr. b6/2 Airports are particularly vulnerable to bird strikes because so many of them are located..adjacent to landfill sites and dumps.
1988 Independent 15 Aug. 3/2 Britain's worst explosion called by landfill methane.
1990 Environment 59/1 There are some 5,000 landfill sites into which about 18 million tonnes of waste is disposed each year.
C. v. transitive.
a. To dispose of (refuse) by burial at a landfill site.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > dispose of refuse [verb (transitive)] > dispose of at landfill site
landfill1988
1988 J. Elkington & J. Hailes Green Consumer Guide (1989) 129 Japan only landfills 1 per cent of its scrap tyres.
1992 Earth Matters Autumn 10/1 Sewage sludge heavily contaminated with toxic metals is unsuitable for use as a fertilizer. Instead, it has to be landfilled, creating a pollution threat to water.
b. To fill (something) with landfill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > dispose of refuse [verb (transitive)] > dispose of at landfill site > fill something with landfill
landfill1988
1988 New Yorker 22 Feb. 54/1 Lava..had..extended the island..landfilling completely some twenty-five fathoms of sea.
1991 Public Wks. Oct. 67/3 By late 1986 LAWPCA had landfilled 10.6 acres with sludge and used an additional 6 acres for a borrow pit.
Derivatives
ˈlandfilling n. = sense A. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > systems of
landfill1938
landfilling1983
1983 Current Affairs Bull. (Sydney) Dec. 25/1 Landfilling is the most widely used of all methods.
1990 Times 23 Oct. 5/5 Local authorities clamp down on the landfilling of tyres.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1997; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.v.1903