Landfill Sites And Their Designs

Building Technology | Civil Engineering | Engineering

Landfill sites, integral to waste management, are engineered facilities for the disposal of solid waste. These sites serve as designated areas where waste is deposited and managed to minimize environmental impact. Their designs encompass various elements, including liners, leachate collection systems, and final covers, aimed at containing and controlling the waste’s effects on surrounding ecosystems and groundwater. Additionally, modern designs prioritize sustainability by incorporating features like methane capture systems to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and promoting post-closure land use options such as recreational areas or renewable energy installations. Efficient landfill design considers factors like waste composition, site geology, and regulatory requirements to ensure effective waste containment and long-term environmental stewardship.

ABSTRACT

Waste landﬁlls (WLFs) receive household wastes; it can also receive non-hazardous sludge, industrial solid waste, and construction and demolition debris. Modern landﬁlls are well-engineered facilities that are located, designed, operated, and monitored to ensure compliance with federal regulations.

Solid waste landﬁlls must be designed to protect the environment from contaminants which may be present in the solid waste stream. The landﬁll siting plan prevents the siting of landﬁlls in environmentally-sensitive areas while on-site environmental monitoring systems monitor for any sign of groundwater contamination and for landﬁll gas, and provides additional safeguards. In addition, many new landﬁlls collect potentially harmful landﬁll gas emissions and convert the gas into energy. The main aim of this work is to briefly discuss landfill sites and their design.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
PROBLEM STATEMENT
AIM OF THE PROJECT
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
DISADVANTAGES OF LANDFILL SITES
ADVANTAGES OF LANDFILL SITES

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
OPERATIONS OF LANDFILL
REVIEW OF SANITARY LANDFILL LIFE CYCLE
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT LANDFILL SITE
TYPES OF LANDFILLS

CHAPTER THREE

SITING AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
OTHER REGULATORY ISSUES
LANDFILL CONFIGURATIONS
CELL LAYOUT
LANDﬁLL FOUNDATION AND SLOPE STABILITY
SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
KEY ASPECTS OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
PREPARATION OF LANDﬁLL SUB-BASE
LINER DESIGN
BIOREACTOR LANDFILL DESIGN
LANDFILL CONSTRUCTION

CHAPTER FOUR

WASTE ACCEPTANCE AT LANDFILLS
WASTE FILLING AND COMPACTION
BIOREACTOR LANDFILL OPERATIONS
POST-CONSTRUCTION MONITORING
LANDFILL POST CLOSURE
LANDFILL REDEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A landfill site is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial. Landfill is the oldest form of waste treatment, although the burial of the waste is modern; historically, refuse was simply left in piles or thrown into pits. Historically, landfills have been the most common method of organized waste disposal and remain so in many places around the world.

Some landfills are also used for waste management purposes, such as the temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or processing of waste material (sorting, treatment, or recycling). Unless they are stabilized, these areas may experience severe shaking or soil liquefaction of the ground during a large earthquake.

Municipal solid waste landﬁlls (MSWLFs) receive household waste. MSWLFs can also receive non-hazardous sludge, industrial solid waste, and construction and demolition debris. Modern landﬁlls are well-engineered facilities that are located, designed, operated, and monitored to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Solid waste landﬁlls must be designed to protect the environment from contaminants which may be present in the solid waste stream. The landﬁll siting plan prevents the siting of landﬁlls in environmentally-sensitive areas while on-site environmental monitoring systems monitor for any sign of groundwater contamination and for landﬁll gas, and provides additional safeguards. In addition, many new landﬁlls collect potentially harmful landﬁll gas emissions and convert the gas into energy.

This chapter provides a comprehensive but brief discussion on all aspects associated with landﬁll design, construction and operation. Siting, regulations and other important steps that need to happen before design stage are also presented in brief. Information on monitoring and post closure requirements is discussed at the end of the chapter. It should be noted that discussions provided on landﬁll design are qualitative as they do not include detailed designs.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

The world population has more than doubled since 1960. If you take 1950 as the base year then the population has grown from 2.5 billion to 7.5 billion. Thousands of cities have been developed in the same time and millions of small villages have been developed in clusters as townships. With such an unprecedented expansion, there has been a crisis, that of waste management which is controlled by landfills site. A landfill site is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial.

1.3 AIM OF THE PROJECT

The main aim of this project provides a comprehensive discussion on all aspects associated with landﬁll site and its design.

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

At the end of this work student involved shall be able to discuss the following subjects: landfill design, construction, and operation. It presents sitting considerations, regulations, and other important steps before the design stage.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT

This paper introduces some of the most common end uses of landfills, discussing advantages and applicability of alternatives to different landfill sites and presents case studies emphasizing successes and challenges for post-closure end uses. Engineering considerations for topics discussed are presented to provide preliminary insight to what issues may be faced when choosing what to do with a landfill post-closure. The presentations of each topic in this paper are not comprehensive due to the unique nature of each landfill project. Case studies are helpful to look at because every landfill project is unique, so creative solutions are developed specific to each project.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

Landfills pose a number of environmental and social issues while in operation which are regulated by EPA (environmental protection agency), state governments, and local municipalities. However, the way the land is used after the landfill reaches its capacity is an important long-term consideration for the owners of the landfill and the communities surrounding them. As the population density in an area continues to increase, the value of reclaimed land occupied by landfills also increases. According the EPA (2014), and as demonstrated in many case studies, the long-term end use of a landfill should be considered in the original design, or at least early in the life of the landfill. Poor planning can lead to costly redesign and extra work in terms of grading and drainage planning, cover design to support foundations, gas collection and control systems, settlement mitigation, and more. Thus, foresight on how the land will eventually be used can save project owners significant funds.

1.7 ADVANTAGES OF LANDFILL SITES

Landfills are convenient to use: They don’t need the waste to be transported from its source where it is generated to another distant or remote area where it would be dumped. The cost of transporting humongous waste, especially from large cities to remote regions of the country can run into millions in a year. The fact that the peripheral areas of most metropolises and even suburbs have become developed and cannot have landfills further complicates the challenge.
Landfills can use the waste generated in a city, town or district and produce energy: There can be confined landfills that are not exactly next to human habitation or farmland and can be safely used in an eco friendly way to generate energy that can power the needs of the facility and the locals. The carbon dioxide and methane exuding from landfills can be harnessed to generate power. This also reduces the quantum of the waste present in landfills.
Landfills can keep cities, towns and districts clean: Any region that doesn’t have a landfill or when the habitants know there is no efficient waste management system in place, the people would simply litter the roads, throw waste anywhere they feel like and dump large waste the nearest vacant lot they get that is not under surveillance.
Landfills are relatively safer than other waste management and disposal techniques.: Incinerators in particular are hazardous for their toxic byproducts. Landfills have their share of risks but not as major ones as other options.

1.8 DISADVANTAGES OF LANDFILL SITES

Toxic waste continues to pileup.

The most concerning problem of landfills is the toxic waste in the pileup will blend with the water or snow, when it rains or snows, and that can flow out of the landfill, contaminate ground water, damage crops and can cause serious health problems.

Methane is a concern.

It is fatal for humans and can cause significant damage to our eco-system. Methane can cause chronic and terminal diseases. It can also light up easily and entire landfills can be on fire in no time.

Dust, pollution and particulate matter would emanate from landfills.

Most landfills are open. The toxic waste would exude gases. There will be dust and all kinds of microbes as well as heavy metals.

CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

Modern landﬁlls are well-engineered facilities. They are sited, designed, operated, and monitored in accordance with federal regulations and local regulations. Three types of landﬁlls are identiﬁed in literature. Conventional dry landﬁlls are the most widely used option. Bioreactor Landﬁlls are becoming popular as a more environmental friendly alternative to dry landﬁlls. Sustainable landﬁlls are the most recent addition to the list. Sustainable landﬁlls allow resource mining and reﬁlling.

Landﬁlls can be regarded as a viable and abundant source of materials and energy. In the developing world, this is widely understood and one may thus often ﬁnd waste pickers scavenging for usable materials. In the developing world either landﬁlling is discouraged or landﬁlls are mined to recover resources. Within this context sustainable landﬁlls may be viewed as a concept that provides a common solution to waste disposal in both developed and developing nations.