Analysis of Sanitary Landfills and Alternatives

Abstract

The first step in establishing a sanitary landfill is site selection. This selection process must find a site where solid waste disposal can be accomplished economically, where disruption of the environment is minimized, which is acceptable to the public, and which satisfies the local, State, and Federal rules and regulations. Each site examined will have different characteristics which suggest an appropriate landfill design. The site design also establishes goals, identifies design basis, prepare alternative designs, and select the best site. Waste quantities and composition will vary with each community. A waste survey taken during site design will give valuable information in determining the amounts of residential, commercial, and industrial wastes. Another consideration is seasonal variations in both composition and quantity. Methane gas and leachate composition and control are the two leading problems in a sanitary landfill. The amounts and composition of the gas and leachate will be directly determined by the kind and amounts of wastes disposed in the landfill. The leachate must be treated and disposed of either through a sewage treatment plant or through evaporation. The methane gas must be vented either into the atmosphere or today many old landfills are being taped and the gas is being sold or used as a fuel on site. No matter whether there is one hundred percent burial or recycling, there must be land disposal. There are local, State, and Federal rules and regulations governing the methods and procedures for this land disposal of solid waste. LandEill operations use these rules and regulations to protect the environment, to be a good neighbor to nearby communities, and to be economically sound. When selecting, designing, and operating a landfill, it is important to have an end use in mind. This will foster more efficient site operation and may prove to be useful in gaining local support for the sanitary landfill. Although solid waste generation is an inevitable fact of life, it is also apparent that there are choices regarding the types and quantities of residuals that we produce and the manner in which we deal with them thereafter. This choice of non-disposal alternatives for solid waste is called resource recovery. Even though many of the technologies are in their early stages of development, they are viable and necessary ways to reduce volume. This reduction in turn prolongs the life of our sanitary landfills.