Human beings have been practicing primitive waste management techniques for thousands of years. 

Early humans simply dug a hole and buried their refuse and trash. 

This was an effective technique for these early people because their population was relatively small and they did not produce as much garbage as modern humans do. 

Burying the trash helps to prevent bugs and rodents from becoming a nuisance and spreading diseases.

    In the modern world humans cannot simply bury their trash. While primitive humans produced very little waste and that which was produced would biodegrade quickly,  modern humans produce large amounts of waste, much of which is not biodegradable and additionally,  many types of garbage maybe damaging to the soil, ground water and surrounding habitat. To address this problem, modern waste management professionals place garbage in lined holes and use bacteria to help facilitate rapid decomposition of the garbage.

Croatia,
 number of inhabitants: 4.437.460

Annually per capita there is 315 kg of waste generated or a total of 1.4 million tons of which 77% is landfilled and 21% recycled.

Bulgaria,
 number of inhabitants: 7.000.477

Annually per capita there is 404 kg of waste generated or a total of 2.8 million tons of which 70% is landfilled and  23% is recycled

Situation in Macedonia,
 Number of inhabitants: 2.103.721 (estimated).

Waste is one of the biggest environmental problems in Macedonia. 

Annually per capita there is 376 kg of waste generated or a total of 796,585 tons, but the total amount of collected municipal waste is 610,227 tons. 

The difference between the total waste collected and the waste that is produced ends everywhere in nature. The situation with the landfills is unsatisfactory, out of 54 landfills, only the Drisla landfill meets some minimum standards, but it also requires significant infrastructure and technological improvements. 

99% is landfilled

Effects of the landfills

In the decades before government regulations were put in place for landfills, anything and everything could be buried beneath the ground at an old dump site, some of which may still be releasing toxic chemicals or other hazardous materials into the Earth. 

As buried organic materials decompose, they release methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.