Inspecting one-third of the class wildlife biology project, junior Gage Place describes the state of the various decaying objects in the Tupperware container to the other pupils in the class. The project is a small simulation of the three most common kinds of landfills in America and the differences in how they affect the decomposition of waste according to Place. “It smelt like rotten egg and death,” Place said about the stench the box produced.

Photo Patrick Cox