(no subject)
Opened in 1948, Fresh Kills landfill became one of the largest refuse heaps in human history. The site is 12 square km (4.6 square miles) in area; and when operational twenty barges, each carrying 650 tons of garbage, were shipped in every day. Had Fresh Kills stayed open as long as originally planned it would have grown to be the highest point on the East Coast of the United States. It could be regarded as being the largest man-made structure on Earth, with the site's volume eventually exceeding the Great Wall of China. In fact in 2001 its peak was 25 meters taller than the Statue of Liberty.