Disposal By Municipal Solid Waste

Landfill

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Site Selection

1. Public opposition.

2. Road access.

3. Traffic load.
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 4. Hydrology.

5. Climate.

6. Buffer Areas.

In October of 1991, EPA promulgated the Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste
Landfills (MSWLF Criteria), For example, a landfill should be more than:

30 m from streams,
160 m from drinking water wells,
65 m from houses, schools, and parks,
3,000 m from airport runways.

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Operation

1- Area Method.

2- Trench Method.

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1- Area Method.

Used on flat ground or terrain is unsuitable for the excavation of

trenches.

Used to dispose large amounts of solid wastes.

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2- Trench Method.

Used when the ground water level is low.

The trench is excavated; the solid waste is placed in it and compacted;

and the soil that was taken from the trench excavation is then laid on
the waste and compacted (Advantage of Trench Method).

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Trench Dimensions

Depth: Depends on the location of the groundwater

and/or the character of soil (3-9 m).

Length: 30 to 300 m.

Width: at least twice as wide as the compacting

equipment (5-15 m).

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 Cell: The waste and the daily cover placed in a landfill
during one operational period, the waste is spread in 0.4
to 0.6 m layers and compacted by compaction
equipment. At the end of each day cover material is
placed over the cell.

Type of cover Minimum Depth (m) Exposure time (days)

Daily 0.15 <7
Intermediate 0.30 7 to 365
Final 0.60 > 365

Lift: the completion of the horizontal layers of the landfill.

Benches are used where the height of the landfill exceeds 15 to 20 m.

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Environmental Concerns

Concerns:-

Air Pollution (Uncontrolled release of gases).

Water Pollution (Uncontrolled release of leachate).

Carriers of disease (Flies, rodents and fires).

Odor.

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Recommendations:-

Good compaction of:-

the waste.
the cover material.

Good Housekeeping.

Accidental Fires:-
Extinguished immediately using soil, water or chemicals.

Liner quality.

Landfill Gases

The principal gaseous products emitted from a

landfill (Methane and CO2) are the result of
microbial decomposition.
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 Typical concentrations of landfill gases and their characteristics are
summarized in Table 9-7.

Leachate
Liquid that passes through the landfill and that has extracted dissolved
and suspended matter from it.

Sources of the liquid:-

Rainfall.

Surface drainage.

Groundwater.

Decomposition of the waste.

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Leachate Quantity

The amount of leachate may be estimated using a hydrologic mass balance

for the landfill.

Field Capacity

The quantity of water that can be held against the pull of gravity.
Theoretically, when the landfill reaches its field capacity, leachate will begin
to be produced.

FC = 0.6 0.55 (

W = overburden mass of waste calculated at midheight of the lift, kg

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Landfill Design

Size of the landfill.

Selection of a liner system.

Design of a leachate collection system

Final cover system.

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Size of the landfill

Where : volume of landfill,

P : population
E : ratio of cover (soil) to compacted fill =
: volume of solid waste,
: volume of cover,
C : average mass of solid waste collected per capita
per year, kg/person.year
: density of compacted solid waste, kg/

See Table 9-10 for typical compaction ratios.

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