**5.3 Landfills**

Plastic waste constitutes a more significant proportion of municipal solid waste. Most of these solid wastes end in landfills. Research has it that it takes more than 300 years for polyethylene to degrade entirely, and this means that plastic waste disposal is a problem that needs to be talked about globally. Landfills remain the safest way of polyethylene disposal, and the waste is subjected characteristically to mechanical stress, decomposition, leachate, and chemical reactions both by aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Landfills have become a breeding ground for dangerous reptiles and insects. It poses environmental pollution, facilitating the release of harmful pollutants in the air when the landfill is set on fire. Carcinogenic and estrogenic compounds are leased, which are dangerous to life. These compounds harm human and aquatic health, causing diseases like breast and ovarian cancer [48]. The policy on solid waste disposal hinges on the reduction, reuse, and recycling of plastic waste to reduce landfill waste [49].
