In a nutshell, a landfill or a dump is the most common method used for waste disposal. In this article, a group of junk removal specialists from Melbourne has decided to put a list of the top 5 largest landfills in the world. You might find number 1 quite surprising...

5. Olusosun Landfill, Lagos, Nigeria - This is the largest dump in Africa and among the largest in the world. The 100-acre landfill receives more than 10 000 tons of waste daily and a significant amount of e-waste dumped in over 500 containers around the site. Because of the chemicals used to extract precious metals in the e-waste, many toxic fumes are being produced. This puts the health of about 1 000 households that have settled in and around the landfill in serious danger.

4. Apex Regional Landfill, Las Vegas, Nevada - With 9 000 tons of trash coming every day the Apex landfill is the largest in the United States. It currently holds over 50 million tons of waste and the numbers are expected to increase to up to a billion tons by the time it closes. This definitely won't be soon, thought, because it is believed that this dump can collect Las Vegas' garbage for the next 200 years.

3. Sudokwon Landfill, South Korea - The landfill was open in 1992 and since then it has collected over 88 million tons of garbage. The daily intake is about 20 000 tons. The dump serves both Seoul and Incheon metropolitan areas. A curious fact about the place is the intention of the South Korean authorities to turn it into a tourist attraction. Moreover, the managers of the site collect the landfill gas and turn it into electricity.

2. Bordo Poniente Landfill, Mexico - By the time of its closure, Mexico City's biggest landfill used to receive 12 000 tones of waste per day and over 78 million tons since its opening in 1985. It was considered one of the largest dump in the world but it was closed at the end of 2011. Since then, the government has taken steps to build biogas plant which will turn methane into energy.

1. Great Pacific Waste Patch, Pacific Ocean - The indisputable winner is not even situated on land. Discovered in 1997, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the final resting place to every plastic bottle and plastic bag that has found its way to the ocean one way or another. The size of the world's largest landfill is still disputable. Some claim is as large as Texas, whilst others go even further by stating it's as big as the whole of the USA. Because the most debris are small plastic particles which float just bellow the surface, it is impossible to detect and picture the pile of garbage from satellite or an aircraft and you can't really see it until you are in the centre of it. It is quite scary to know there are tons of plastic waste floating around the Pacific Ocean and we can't do nothing about it, isn't it?