SBT 4635

Solid Waste Treatment and

Disposal Technology
(Landfill)

INTRODUCTION
What

is a landfill
A dump big hole in the ground where we left
our garbage
A landfill place that has been specially
prepared to receive MSW to prevent
environmental pollution from garbage
contamination
Landfills maybe:

Excavated and filled

Filled existing depressions
Built up from the ground
A combination of above

SANITARY LANDFILL
Concept

fostered in early 20th century

Operating in a controlled safe way
Use cover soil
Excavate cells
Compact the waste
Control access

SANITARY LANDFILL
method of disposing solid waste on land
without creating nuisance or hazard to public
health or safety. Utilizing engineering principles
to confine waste to the smallest practical area
and to reduce it to the smallest practical volume
and cover it with a layer of earth at the
conclusion of each days operation or at such
more frequent intervals as necessary

LANDFILL : TRENDS IN MALAYSIA

1970s

dump accommodate waste from the low

population
1980s introduction of national programme to
manage waste more systematically
1990s the starting of privatization of waste
management, the construction of 1st sanitary
landfill
2006/2007 leachate issue
2007 Parliament passed the Solid Waste and
Public Cleansing Management (SWPCM) Act
2007 in August 2007

MAIN TOPICS THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED

Planning

a landfill

Design
Operation

Leachate management
Landfill gas management

Closure

of a landfill

PLANNING A LANDFILL:
Involve

several steps

Waste management conception

Landfill site selection
Design of the landfill

PLANNING A LANDFILL :WASTE MANAGEMENT

CONCEPTION

Type and volume of waste to be disposed

Operation time
Type of transportation

PLANNING A LANDFILL :LANDFILL SITE

SELECTION
The

following site selection procedure is

performed in four phases

Phase 1: Site rating process

Phase 2: Identification of site areas
Phase 3: Site investigation
Phase 4: Final decision

PHASE 1: SITE RATING

Exclusion

criteria
Drinking water protection area
High flood areas
Unstable ground
Extreme morphology
Unsuitable geological and hydrogeological
conditions
Residential areas
Nature protection areas
Important cultural sites

PHASE 2 : IDENTIFICATION OF SITE AREAS

General

data (e.g. volume, distance from main

waste sources)
Hydrogeology and water management
Geotechnical and constructional aspects
Meteorological aspects
Aspects of emissions
Nature protection and land use

Factors

Remarks

Availability of land

Site should have a useful life greater than one

year

Distance travel
during hauling

Significant impact on operating cost

Soil conditions and

topography

Cover material must be available at or near site

topography

Surface water
hydrology

Impacts drainage requirements

Geological and
hydrogeological
condition

Very important with respect to site preparation

Meteorological
conditions

Provision must be made for wet-weather

operation

Local environmental
conditions

Noise, odour, dust, vector, aesthetic factors

control requirements

Ultimate use of site

Affects long-term management for site

PHASE 3 & 4
Phase

Further investigation of outcome from phase 2

2-5 potential sites are selected
Involve EIA

Phase

Final decision should be made for the most

favourable of the suitable sites
The following planning of a landfill should be
accompanied by a detailed environment impact
assessment and starts with a general safety plan

DESIGNING A LANDFILL
Technical

installation incorporate

Leachate collection, storage and treatment facilities

Gas collection, storage, venting and compressor
system
Gas leakage detecting probes, leachate and
groundwater monitoring wells
Final cover/ top liner to reduce infiltration
Low permeability bottom liner bottom sealing
consisting of impermeable mineral layer and/ or
artificial sealing liner

DESIGN OF A LANDFILL : LINER

Type

of liners

Compacted soil (clay)

Geomembranes (synthetic flexible membrane liner)
e.g: PVC, fPP, HDPE
Composites of both

Liner

keep leachate from migrating out from the

landfill

Layer of compacted soil; at least 0.61m (2ft thick)

with hydraulic conductivity of not greater than 1 x
10-7
Clay durable and ensures low hydraulic conductivity
The geomembrane liner must be at least 30 mil thick
(1 mil = 0.001 inch)/ 0.75mm except for HDPE
geomembrane that must be at least 60 mil/ 0.75mm
thick.
Geomembrane liner minimizes the exposure of the
compacted soil liner to leachate
Chemical compatibality of geomembrane with waste
leachate is critical usual problem : discoloring,
dissolve, tearing, cracking, swelling.

Hydraulic conductivity?
Physical

property that strongly influences the

movement of liquids and gases in landfill through
saturated media
Unit : K
Low hydraulic conductivity = low permeability
thus slow the escape of liquid and gas

TY

LANDFILL OPERATION
Weighing

Waste is brought to the so-called working face. The area

should be large enough to accommodate several vehicles
unloading simultaneously

Waste deposited into daily cells, i.e., small units of land

that are filled with MSW and then covered at the end of
the day by a layer of soil

EXAMPLE 1
Determine

the area required for a new sanitary

landfill with a projected lifetime of 25 years. The
landfill will serve a population of 250,000 persons
generating 28kg per household per week.
Average waste density in the landfill is 550kg/m3.
Landfill height is not to exceed 25 meters.
Assume four persons per household.

LANDFILL OPERATIONS: COVER MATERIAL

Active

landfill cells must be covered with at least

6 inch of soil or similar material to control
disease vectors, fires, odour, blowing litter and
scavenging by animals
Alternative cover materials

Ash from incinerator

Composted MSW
Construction and demolition debris
Shredded automobile tires

REFERENCES

John P., (2005), Waste Management Practices: Municipal, Hazardous and

Industrial. Taylor & Francis group. USA
Fauziah, S.H. & Agamuthu, P (2012). Trends in sustainable landfilling in
Malaysia, a developing country. Waste Management and Research 30(7):
656-663. DOI: 10.1177/0734242X12437564
http://www.semcolandfill.com/