Longterm leachate management,con't technologies come to the market. These are being quickly adopted as site opera tors work towards maximizing site capa
If present trends in landfill design continue towards lower infiltration
rates, higher waste densities and larger sites, the contaminating lifespan of density is achieved over time as the was landfills will be greatly increased. tes within the landfill settle. Higher The lifespan ofsome engineered sys waste densities will likely result in tems will not be sufficient to prevent slower percolation rates, longer resi environmental impacts over hundreds dence time in the waste and, hence, ofyears.In essence,our descendants will higher leachate concentrations. be forced to deal with the environmental Landfills are also tending to get larger. impacts ofour garbage,either by the res Regionalization of waste management ponsibility of operating and maintain responsibilities and the slow,expensive ing leachate management systems or by nature of the approvals process are the the need to remediate future leachate primary reasons. For example,searches impacts due to the failure ofthe systems are underway within the Greater Toron in the long-term. to Area for sites which could be as large cities. In addition, increased refuse
as 230 to 320 ha. These could be the
Possible Solutions
largest landfill sites in North America and there is little experience with the
In summary,leachate produced from municipal landfills is likely to change significantly in the future. Therefore, it is not adequate to continue to design
control and treatment of leachate at such a scale.
landfills based on past history of lea chate production and treatment. Land fill designers must be more innovative and carefully consider the implications of changes in quantity and quality of leachate over the long-term. While these design innovations are largely in the for mative stages, a few concepts that may have merit include: 1. Pre-treatment of waste residuals so that there are fewer contaminants available to be leached out of the
waste or specific problematic con taminants are better controlled. A considerable research effort is needed
to further develop these technolo gies. 2. Site future landfills in areas with suf
ficient natural containment capabi lity compatible with the leaching his tory of the waste and geochemical environments that are naturally more compatible with the leachate
characteristics.This option is consis tent with the current policies of the MOE which recognize the limita tions of engineered systems and pre
ENVIRONMENTAL S)(SD(gK](S(g
li
1992/1993 Directory & Buyer's Guide Issue
3. Design landfills to allow the infiltra tion of water into the refuse.This will
enhance biodegradation of the orga nic component of the wastes while flushing out soluble contaminants.
Sharpen the cutting edge of your fourth quarter marketing plan by advertising in our December/ January Issue. Competitively priced ads are an
Contaminants will be leached out of
the refuse at an earlier stage in the lifespan of the landfill and can be dealt with by treatment or other mea
economical and effective way to reach over
19,000 key environmental equipment and service specifiers.
sures. This will ensure that the ma
fl0 December/January Issue Ad closing date December 15, 1992
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environmental specifiers.
Backflow prevention strategies
• Directory of environmental consuiting engineers.
Workplace training Sludge management options Oil/Water separation technologies
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• Directory of iaboratories serving the environ mental field. This valuable reference source makes the issue a
'keeper' for some 19,000 environmental professio nals; unquestionably your best advertising buy of the year for goods and services.
Air pollution abatement Review of spill sorbents Developments In clarlfler design ' Leachate management ' Kingston chooses trenchless
Steve Davey
A1 Stiver
Ron Ganton
Sales Director
U.S. Representative (416) 294-5502
B.C. Representative (604) 274-3849
Telephone:(416)727-4666,
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Future changes in leachate quality v«ll provide a challenge to both landfill designers and regulators.It is important that we consider what these changes may be to ensure that municipal wastes and the pollution impacts associated with them are managed properly. Con siderable research will likely be needed in order to develop appropriate solu tions to these issues. It is not reasonable
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10 Retch Cr., Aurora,Ontario,Canada L4G 5N7
jority of leachate is produced while engineered systems are still func tional. Conclusion
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ments with characteristics that pro vide a high degree of natural con tainment.
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fer that landfills be sited in environ
Penny Davey Sales Representative (416) 727-4627
to expect future generations to maintain the engineering systems we presently design for landfills or to remediate im pacts resulting from our lack of fore sight in engineering design. We must consider what legacy we are leaving for our children and grandchildren and take the appropriate measures now to prevent long term environmental pol lution. ES&E
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Environmental Science & Engineering, November 1992