Placing waste in landfill does not make the material disappear. It transfers it into a long-lived managed system where decomposition, gas generation, contaminated liquids, settlement and environmental control can continue for decades.
Open dumping and open burning are not merely unattractive forms of waste disposal. They can create connected air, water, soil, climate and public-health pathways, particularly where collection and controlled treatment systems are weak.
Waste can become a major source of pollution when it is poorly managed, burned, dumped, leaked or improperly treated. But waste and pollution are not synonyms, and confusing them obscures both problems.