Really curious as I know part of the problem may be pollution, but if certain parts of trash were burnable and safe, would that be a viable waste disposal option, somehow? Thanks in advance.
EDIT: Huge thank you to everyone that contributed & especially those with the World Class responses to my simple yet genuine question. This is why I consider this sub to be the Gem of the Internet. I know we all have a different frame of reference & I applaud you for taking the time to break down the answer in the unique form that you have provided. Much respect!
In: 4688
A multitude of reasons:
(1) Despite the popular conception, the vast majority of volcanoes do not have an open pit of bubbling lava at the top. After active eruptions, everything solidifies and is plugged up until the next time. Lava lakes which persist are *incredibly* rare, there’s between 5 and 8 in the world I think, depending on how you count them. Absolutely not enough to be meaningful for waste disposal though.
(2) lava is molten rock, so it is still incredibly dense. Most stuff thrown onto it will stay on top of it, or will not sink down in any meaningful way. Volcanic vents are where stuff is *coming out* of the Earth, it doesn’t make for a good pathway in.
(3) heating and burning stuff in this manner does not lead to good things. Waste incineration plants have to do so in controlled ways with proper ventilation, it would be an environmental distaster at some uncontrolled open air pit. [Here is some campsite waste being disposed into the lava lake at Erta Ale for a small scale example.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq7DDk8eLs8&spfreload=10) Some possible further examples of interest in r/ThrowItIntoLava
(4) it’s incredibly inconvenient to transport any amount of waste to such a place. Volcanoes are always remote to some extent — even those next to settlements are difficult to reach the summit of. It would certainly make for an expensive and unsustainable environment to build any transport infrastructure on for the purpose.
The lava lake that exists closest to any settlement would be the one at the summit of Mt Nyiragongo, just north of Goma Town in DRC. It is widely held to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the unpredictability of both its eruption timing *and* the nature of its lava. It’s 1977 eruption featured flows travelling at nearly 40 mph which overwhelmed some local villages.
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