Landfill

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A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, trash dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, refuse was simply left in piles or thrown into pits; in archeology this is known as a midden.

Contents

Some landfill sites are used for waste management purposes, such as temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or for various stages of processing waste material, such as sorting, treatment, or recycling. Unless they are stabilized, landfills may undergo severe shaking or soil liquefaction of the ground during an earthquake. Once full, the area over a landfill site may be reclaimed for other uses.

Operations

One of several landfills used by Dryden, Ontario, Canada Landfill.jpg
One of several landfills used by Dryden, Ontario, Canada
Garbage dumped in the middle of a road in Karachi, Pakistan Garbage dump in Karachi.jpg
Garbage dumped in the middle of a road in Karachi, Pakistan

Operators of well-run landfills for non-hazardous waste meet predefined specifications by applying techniques to: [1]

  1. confine waste to as small an area as possible
  2. compact waste to reduce volume [2]

They can also cover waste (usually daily) with layers of soil or other types of material such as woodchips and fine particles.

During landfill operations, a scale or weighbridge may weigh waste collection vehicles on arrival and personnel may inspect loads for wastes that do not accord with the landfill's waste-acceptance criteria. [2] Afterward, the waste collection vehicles use the existing road network on their way to the tipping face or working front, where they unload their contents. After loads are deposited, compactors or bulldozers can spread and compact the waste on the working face. Before leaving the landfill boundaries, the waste collection vehicles may pass through a wheel-cleaning facility. If necessary, they return to the weighbridge for re-weighing without their load. The weighing process can assemble statistics on the daily incoming waste tonnage, which databases can retain for record keeping. In addition to trucks, some landfills may have equipment to handle railroad containers. The use of "rail-haul" permits landfills to be located at more remote sites, without the problems associated with many truck trips.

Typically, in the working face, the compacted waste is covered with soil or alternative materials daily. Alternative waste-cover materials include chipped wood or other "green waste", [3] several sprayed-on foam products, chemically "fixed" bio-solids, and temporary blankets. Blankets can be lifted into place at night and then removed the following day prior to waste placement. The space that is occupied daily by the compacted waste and the cover material is called a daily cell. Waste compaction is critical to extending the life of the landfill. Factors such as waste compressibility, waste-layer thickness and the number of passes of the compactor over the waste affect the waste densities.

Sanitary landfill life cycle

Sanitary landfill diagram LANDFILL.png
Sanitary landfill diagram

The term landfill is usually shorthand for a municipal landfill or sanitary landfill. These facilities were first introduced early in the 20th century, but gained wide use in the 1960s and 1970s, in an effort to eliminate open dumps and other "unsanitary" waste disposal practices. The sanitary landfill is an engineered facility that separates and confines waste. Sanitary landfills are intended as biological reactors (bioreactors) in which microbes will break down complex organic waste into simpler, less toxic compounds over time. These reactors must be designed and operated according to regulatory standards and guidelines (See environmental engineering).

Usually, aerobic decomposition is the first stage by which wastes are broken down in a landfill. These are followed by four stages of anaerobic degradation. Usually, solid organic material in solid phase decays rapidly as larger organic molecules degrade into smaller molecules. These smaller organic molecules begin to dissolve and move to the liquid phase, followed by hydrolysis of these organic molecules, and the hydrolyzed compounds then undergo transformation and volatilization as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), with rest of the waste remaining in solid and liquid phases.

During the early phases, little material volume reaches the leachate, as the biodegradable organic matter of the waste undergoes a rapid decrease in volume. Meanwhile, the leachate's chemical oxygen demand increases with increasing concentrations of the more recalcitrant compounds compared to the more reactive compounds in the leachate. Successful conversion and stabilization of the waste depend on how well microbial populations function in syntrophy, i.e. an interaction of different populations to provide each other's nutritional needs.: [4]

The life cycle of a municipal landfill undergoes five distinct phases: [5] [4]

Initial adjustment (Phase I)

As the waste is placed in the landfill, the void spaces contain high volumes of molecular oxygen (O2). With added and compacted wastes, the O2 content of the landfill bioreactor strata gradually decreases. Microbial populations grow, density increases. Aerobic biodegradation dominates, i.e. the primary electron acceptor is O2.

Transition (Phase II)

The O2 is rapidly degraded by the existing microbial populations. The decreasing O2 leads to less aerobic and more anaerobic conditions in the layers. The primary electron acceptors during transition are nitrates and sulphates since O2 is rapidly displaced by CO2 in the effluent gas.

Acid formation (Phase III)

Hydrolysis of the biodegradable fraction of the solid waste begins in the acid formation phase, which leads to rapid accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) in the leachate. The increased organic acid content decreases the leachate pH from approximately 7.5 to 5.6. During this phase, the decomposition intermediate compounds like the VFAs contribute much chemical oxygen demand (COD). Long-chain volatile organic acids (VOAs) are converted to acetic acid (C2H4O2), CO2, and hydrogen gas (H2). High concentrations of VFAs increase both the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and VOA concentrations, which initiates H2 production by fermentative bacteria, which stimulates the growth of H2-oxidizing bacteria. The H2 generation phase is relatively short because it is complete by the end of the acid formation phase. The increase in the biomass of acidogenic bacteria increases the amount of degradation of the waste material and consuming nutrients. Metals, which are generally more water-soluble at lower pH, may become more mobile during this phase, leading to increasing metal concentrations in the leachate.

Methane fermentation (Phase IV)

The acid formation phase intermediary products (e.g., acetic, propionic, and butyric acids) are converted to CH4 and CO2 by methanogenic microorganisms. As VFAs are metabolized by the methanogens, the landfill water pH returns to neutrality. The leachate's organic strength, expressed as oxygen demand, decreases at a rapid rate with increases in CH4 and CO2 gas production. This is the longest decomposition phase.

Final maturation and stabilization (Phase V)

The rate of microbiological activity slows during the last phase of waste decomposition as the supply of nutrients limits the chemical reactions, e.g. as bioavailable phosphorus becomes increasingly scarce. CH4 production almost completely disappears, with O2 and oxidized species gradually reappearing in the gas wells as O2 permeates downwardly from the troposphere. This transforms the oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) in the leachate toward oxidative processes. The residual organic materials may incrementally be converted to the gas phase, and as organic matter is composted; i.e. the organic matter is converted to humic-like compounds. [6]

Social and environmental impact

Landfill operation in Hawaii. The area being filled is a single, well-defined "cell" and a protective landfill liner is in place (exposed on the left) to prevent contamination by leachates migrating downward through the underlying geological formation. Landfill Hawaii.jpg
Landfill operation in Hawaii. The area being filled is a single, well-defined "cell" and a protective landfill liner is in place (exposed on the left) to prevent contamination by leachates migrating downward through the underlying geological formation.

Landfills have the potential to cause a number of issues. Infrastructure disruption, such as damage to access roads by heavy vehicles, may occur. Pollution of local roads and watercourses from wheels on vehicles when they leave the landfill can be significant and can be mitigated by wheel washing systems. Pollution of the local environment, such as contamination of groundwater or aquifers or soil contamination may occur, as well.

Leachate

When precipitation falls on open landfills, water percolates through the garbage and becomes contaminated with suspended and dissolved material, forming leachate. If this is not contained it can contaminate groundwater. All modern landfill sites use a combination of impermeable liners several metres thick, geologically stable sites and collection systems to contain and capture this leachate. It can then be treated and evaporated. Once a landfill site is full, it is sealed off to prevent precipitation ingress and new leachate formation. However, liners must have a lifespan, be it several hundred years or more. Eventually, any landfill liner could leak, [7] so the ground around landfills must be tested for leachate to prevent pollutants from contaminating groundwater.

Decomposition gases

Rotting food and other decaying organic waste create decomposition gases, especially CO2 and CH4 from aerobic and anaerobic decomposition, respectively. Both processes occur simultaneously in different parts of a landfill. In addition to available O2, the fraction of gas constituents will vary, depending on the age of landfill, type of waste, moisture content and other factors. For example, the maximum amount of landfill gas produced can be illustrated a simplified net reaction of diethyl oxalate that accounts for these simultaneous reactions: [8]

4 C6H10O4 + 6 H2O → 13 CH4 + 11 CO2

On average, about half of the volumetric concentration of landfill gas is CH4 and slightly less than half is CO2. The gas also contains about 5% molecular nitrogen (N2), less than 1% hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and a low concentration of non-methane organic compounds (NMOC), about 2700 ppmv. [8]

Waste disposal in Athens, Greece Khomatere Maurorakhes (KhUTA Makedonias).jpg
Waste disposal in Athens, Greece

Landfill gases can seep out of the landfill and into the surrounding air and soil. Methane is a greenhouse gas, and is flammable and potentially explosive at certain concentrations, which makes it perfect for burning to generate electricity cleanly. Since decomposing plant matter and food waste only release carbon that has been captured from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, no new carbon enters the carbon cycle and the atmospheric concentration of CO2 is not affected. Carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. [9] In properly managed landfills, gas is collected and flared or recovered for landfill gas utilization.

Vectors

Poorly run landfills may become nuisances because of vectors such as rats and flies which can spread infectious diseases. The occurrence of such vectors can be mitigated through the use of daily cover.

Other nuisances

A group of wild elephants interacting with a trash dump in Sri Lanka A herd of 40 wild elephants at Ampara in east Sri Lanka is totally dependent on garbage from tractors DSC8792.jpg
A group of wild elephants interacting with a trash dump in Sri Lanka

Other potential issues include wildlife disruption due to occupation of habitat [10] and animal health disruption caused by consuming waste from landfills, [11] dust, odor, noise pollution, and reduced local property values.

Landfill gas

A gas flare produced by a landfill in Lake County, Ohio Gas flare from a landfill in Ohio.jpg
A gas flare produced by a landfill in Lake County, Ohio

Gases are produced in landfills due to the anaerobic digestion by microbes. In a properly managed landfill this gas is collected and used. Its uses range from simple flaring to the landfill gas utilization and generation of electricity. Landfill gas monitoring alerts workers to the presence of a build-up of gases to a harmful level. In some countries, landfill gas recovery is extensive; in the United States, for example, more than 850 landfills have active landfill gas recovery systems. [12]

Solar landfill

Solar arrays on a full landfill in Rehoboth, MA Faria 000102 153913 493502 4578 (35502216424).jpg
Solar arrays on a full landfill in Rehoboth, MA

A Solar landfill is a repurposed used landfill that is converted to a solar array solar farm. [13]

Regional practice

A landfill in Perth, Western Australia Landfill face.JPG
A landfill in Perth, Western Australia
South East New Territories Landfill, Hong Kong South East New Territories Landfill 2.jpg
South East New Territories Landfill, Hong Kong

Canada

Landfills in Canada are regulated by provincial environmental agencies and environmental protection legislation. [14] Older facilities tend to fall under current standards and are monitored for leaching. [15] Some former locations have been converted to parkland.

European Union

The Rusko landfill in Oulu, Finland Rusko Landfill Oulu 20070318 02.jpg
The Rusko landfill in Oulu, Finland

In the European Union, individual states are obliged to enact legislation to comply with the requirements and obligations of the European Landfill Directive.

The majority of EU member states have laws banning or severely restricting the disposal of household trash via landfills. [16]

India

Landfilling is currently the major method of municipal waste disposal in India. India also has Asia's largest dumping ground in Deonar, Mumbai. [17] However issues frequently arise due alarming growth rate of landfills and poor management by authorities. [18] On and under surface fires have been commonly seen in the Indian landfills over the last few years. [17]

United Kingdom

Landfilling practices in the UK have had to change in recent years to meet the challenges of the European Landfill Directive. The UK now imposes landfill tax upon biodegradable waste which is put into landfills. In addition to this the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme has been established for local authorities to trade landfill quotas in England. A different system operates in Wales where authorities cannot 'trade' amongst themselves, but have allowances known as the Landfill Allowance Scheme.

United States

U.S. landfills are regulated by each state's environmental agency, which establishes minimum guidelines; however, none of these standards may fall below those set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [19]

Permitting a landfill generally takes between five and seven years, costs millions of dollars and requires rigorous siting, engineering and environmental studies and demonstrations to ensure local environmental and safety concerns are satisfied. [20]

Types

Microbial topics

The status of a landfill's microbial community may determine its digestive efficiency. [23]

Bacteria that digest plastic have been found in landfills. [24]

Reclaiming materials

One can treat landfills as a viable and abundant source of materials and energy. In the developing world, waste pickers often scavenge for still-usable materials. In commercial contexts, companies have also discovered landfill sites, and many[ quantify ] have begun harvesting materials and energy. [25] Well-known examples include gas-recovery facilities. [26] Other commercial facilities include waste incinerators which have built-in material recovery. This material recovery is possible through the use of filters (electro filter, active-carbon and potassium filter, quench, HCl-washer, SO2-washer, bottom ash-grating, etc.).

Alternatives

In addition to waste reduction and recycling strategies, there are various alternatives to landfills, including waste-to-energy incineration, anaerobic digestion, composting, mechanical biological treatment, pyrolysis and plasma arc gasification. Depending on local economics and incentives, these can be made more financially attractive than landfills.

Restrictions

Countries including Germany, Austria, Sweden, [27] Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, have banned the disposal of untreated waste in landfills.[ citation needed ] In these countries, only certain hazardous wastes, fly ashes from incineration or the stabilized output of mechanical biological treatment plants may still be deposited.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste management</span> Activities and actions required to manage waste from its source to its final disposal

Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and economic mechanisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental remediation</span> Removal of pollution from soil, groundwater etc.

Environmental remediation is the cleanup of hazardous substances dealing with the removal, treatment and containment of pollution or contaminants from environmental media such as soil, groundwater, sediment. Remediation may be required by regulations before development of land revitalization projects. Developers who agree to voluntary cleanup may be offered incentives under state or municipal programs like New York State's Brownfield Cleanup Program. If remediation is done by removal the waste materials are simply transported off-site for disposal at another location. The waste material can also be contained by physical barriers like slurry walls. The use of slurry walls is well-established in the construction industry. The application of (low) pressure grouting, used to mitigate soil liquefaction risks in San Francisco and other earthquake zones, has achieved mixed results in field tests to create barriers, and site-specific results depend upon many variable conditions that can greatly impact outcomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wastewater treatment</span> Converting wastewater into an effluent for return to the water cycle

Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater and converts this into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environment or is reused for various purposes. The treatment process takes place in a wastewater treatment plant. There are several kinds of wastewater which are treated at the appropriate type of wastewater treatment plant. For domestic wastewater, the treatment plant is called a Sewage Treatment. For industrial wastewater, treatment either takes place in a separate Industrial wastewater treatment, or in a sewage treatment plant. Further types of wastewater treatment plants include Agricultural wastewater treatment and leachate treatment plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure</span>

Toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) is a soil sample extraction method for chemical analysis employed as an analytical method to simulate leaching through a landfill. The testing methodology is used to determine if a waste is characteristically hazardous, i.e., classified as one of the "D" listed wastes by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The extract is analyzed for substances appropriate to the protocol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anaerobic digestion</span> Processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen

Anaerobic digestion is a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste or to produce fuels. Much of the fermentation used industrially to produce food and drink products, as well as home fermentation, uses anaerobic digestion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial wastewater treatment</span> Processes used for treating wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product

Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes used for treating wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product. After treatment, the treated industrial wastewater may be reused or released to a sanitary sewer or to a surface water in the environment. Some industrial facilities generate wastewater that can be treated in sewage treatment plants. Most industrial processes, such as petroleum refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants have their own specialized facilities to treat their wastewaters so that the pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply with the regulations regarding disposal of wastewaters into sewers or into rivers, lakes or oceans. This applies to industries that generate wastewater with high concentrations of organic matter, toxic pollutants or nutrients such as ammonia. Some industries install a pre-treatment system to remove some pollutants, and then discharge the partially treated wastewater to the municipal sewer system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leachate</span> A liquid that extracts soluble or suspended solids

A leachate is any liquid that, in the course of passing through matter, extracts soluble or suspended solids, or any other component of the material through which it has passed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landfill gas</span> Gaseous fossil fuel

Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane, with the remainder being mostly carbon dioxide. Trace amounts of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) comprise the remainder (<1%). These trace gases include a large array of species, mainly simple hydrocarbons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste-to-energy</span> Process of generating energy from the primary treatment of waste

Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Most WtE processes generate electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol or synthetic fuels, often derived from the product syngas.

A mechanical biological treatment (MBT) system is a type of waste processing facility that combines a sorting facility with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion. MBT plants are designed to process mixed household waste as well as commercial and industrial wastes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secondary treatment</span> Biological treatment process for wastewater or sewage

Secondary treatment is the removal of biodegradable organic matter from sewage or similar kinds of wastewater. The aim is to achieve a certain degree of effluent quality in a sewage treatment plant suitable for the intended disposal or reuse option. A "primary treatment" step often precedes secondary treatment, whereby physical phase separation is used to remove settleable solids. During secondary treatment, biological processes are used to remove dissolved and suspended organic matter measured as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). These processes are performed by microorganisms in a managed aerobic or anaerobic process depending on the treatment technology. Bacteria and protozoa consume biodegradable soluble organic contaminants while reproducing to form cells of biological solids. Secondary treatment is widely used in sewage treatment and is also applicable to many agricultural and industrial wastewaters.

Landfills are the primary method of waste disposal in many parts of the world, including United States and Canada. Bioreactor landfills are expected to reduce the amount of and costs associated with management of leachate, to increase the rate of production of methane for commercial purposes and reduce the amount of land required for land-fills. Bioreactor landfills are monitored and manipulate oxygen and moisture levels to increase the rate of decomposition by microbial activity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodegradable waste</span> Organic matter that can be broken down

Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane, compost, humus, and simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion or similar processes. It mainly includes kitchen waste, ash, soil, dung and other plant matter. In waste management, it also includes some inorganic materials which can be decomposed by bacteria. Such materials include gypsum and its products such as plasterboard and other simple sulfates which can be decomposed by sulfate reducing bacteria to yield hydrogen sulfide in anaerobic land-fill conditions.

Landfill mining and reclamation (LFMR) is a process which excavates and processes solid wastes which have previously been landfilled. The process aims to reduce the amount of landfill mass encapsulated within the closed landfill and/or temporarily remove hazardous material to allow protective measures to be taken before the landfill mass is replaced. In the process, mining recovers valuable recyclable materials, a combustible fraction, soil, and landfill space. The aeration of the landfill soil is a secondary benefit with regard to the landfill's future use. The combustible fraction is useful for power generation. The overall appearance of the landfill mining procedure is a sequence of processing machines laid out in a functional conveyor system. The operating principle is to excavate, sieve and sort the landfill material.

Landfill gas monitoring is the process by which gases that are collected or released from landfills are electronically monitored. Landfill gas may be measured as it escapes the landfill or may be measured as it is collected and redirected to a power plant or flare.

This is a glossary of environmental science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste</span> Unwanted or unusable materials

Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landfills in the United States</span> American landfills

Municipal solid waste (MSW) – more commonly known as trash or garbage – consists of everyday items people use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps and papers. In 2018, Americans generated about 265.3 million tonnes of waste. In the United States, landfills are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states' environmental agencies. Municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLF) are required to be designed to protect the environment from contaminants that may be present in the solid waste stream.

Solid waste policy in the United States is aimed at developing and implementing proper mechanisms to effectively manage solid waste. For solid waste policy to be effective, inputs should come from stakeholders, including citizens, businesses, community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, universities, and other research organizations. These inputs form the basis of policy frameworks that influence solid waste management decisions. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates household, industrial, manufacturing, and commercial solid and hazardous wastes under the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Effective solid waste management is a cooperative effort involving federal, state, regional, and local entities. Thus, the RCRA's Solid Waste program section D encourages the environmental departments of each state to develop comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous industrial and municipal solid waste.

Anaerobic membrane bioreactor or AnMBR is the name of a technology utilized in wastewater treatment. It is a technology in membrane filtration for biomass retention. AnMBR works by using a membrane bioreactor (MBR) in a anaerobic environment. Anaerobic bacteria and archaea convert organic materials into carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The sewage is filtered and separated by membranes leaving the effluent and sludge apart. The produced biogas can later be combusted to generate heat or electricity. It can also be upgraded (purified) into Renewable natural gas of household quality. AnMBR is considered to be a sustainable alternative for sewage treatment because the energy that can be generated by methane combustion can exceed the energy required for maintaining the process.

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Further reading