The Choosing Of A Landfill Site Essay -- essays research papers

The Choosing of a Landfill SiteThere is currently much compete on the desirability of landfilling particular gass, the practicability of alternatives such as waste minimization or pre-treatment, the extent of waste pre-treatment required, and of the mostappropriate landfilling strategies for the final residues. This debate is likelyto stimulate significant developments in landfilling methods during the nextdecade. Current and proposed landfill techniques atomic number 18 described in thisinformation sheet.Types of landfillLandfill techniques ar dependent upon both the emblem of waste and the landfillmanagement strategy. A commonly employ classification of landfills, consort towaste type only, is described below, together with a classification agree tolandfill strategy.The EU Draft Landfill Directive recognises three main types of landfillHazardous waste landfillMunicipal waste landfillInert waste landfillSimilar categories are used in many other parts of the world. In practi ce, thesecategories are not clear-cut. The Draft Directive recognises variants, such asmono-disposal - where only a single waste type (which may or may not behazardous) is deposited - and joint-disposal - where municipal and hazardouswastes may be co-deposited in order to promote benefit from municipal wastedecomposition processes. The landfilling of hazardous wastes is a contentiousissue and one on which there is not international consensus. go on complications arise from the difficulty of classifying wastes accurately,particularly the distinction between hazardous/non-hazardous and of ensuringthat inert wastes are really inert. In practice, many wastes described asinert undergo degradation reactions quasi(prenominal) to those of municipal solid waste(MSW), albeit at lower rates, with consequent environmental risks from gas andleachate.Alternatively, landfills can be categorised according to their managementstrategy. quartette distinct strategies have evolved for the management of landfills(Hjelmar et al, 1995), their selection being dependent upon attitudes, scotchfactors, and geographical location, as well as the nature of the wastes. Theyare chalk up containment Containment and collection of leachate Controlledcontaminant release and Unrestricted contaminant release.A) Total containment only movement of water into or out of the landfill is prevented. Th... ...eatment, and the most appropriate methods, are site-specific. Thetimescale required for active leachate management is dependent on the rate atwhich pollutants are flushed from the landfill. With conventional low-permeability top covers and containment strategies, it is likely that thetimescale ordain be several centuries, for wastes with a high pollution potential,such as MSW.There is currently a great deal of interest in shortening this period by high-rate recirculation and partial treatment. As yet, these intensify flushingtechniques have not been proven at full-scale. Until they are, or un til wasteminimisation and pre-treatment reduce the pollution potential of the wastes thatare landfilled, the long time-scales for pollution mark arising from currentlandfill techniques will remain.References1.Hjelmar O, Johannessen LM, Knox K & Ehrig HJ, Composition and management ofleachate from landfillsthe EU. To be presented at 5th International Landfill Symposium, Sardinia,October 1995return to text within 2.Dept of the Environment, A review of water match methods and their application to landfill in the UK, UKDept of the Environment Report No. CWM 031/91.