Landfill (Waste Disposal)

Mannure Pits
• Mostly used in rural areas
• Digging “manure pits” is to prevent the refuses
thrown around the houses.
• The garbage, cattle dung, straw, and leaves should
be dumped into the mannure pits and covered
with earth.
• Two pits will be needed
• In 5-6 month’s time the refuse is converted into
manure which can be returned to the field.
 Landfill

• Landfills - territories for the production and

consumption waste disposal
• Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste
disposal
• Some landfill sites are also 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

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 Why are Open Landfills Bad?
• Due to the lack of conditions for decomposition, waste
in landfills poisons the water, soil and air around them
• Chemical reactions lead to the release of dioxins,
which can be carcinogenic; there are more than a
hundred such toxic substances
Structural formula of 2,3,7,8-
tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin
- one of the most toxic chlorine
derivatives of dibenzo [b, e] -
1,4-dioxin. It is a cumulative
poison and belongs to the
group of dangerous
xenobiotics. 4
 Why are Open Landfills Bad?

• Wastewater, atmospheric precipitation, enriched with

various dangerous for life toxic substances, fall into
groundwater and further into drains that serve
households

• Landfill gas, including methane and carbon dioxide,

contributes to the strengthening of the greenhouse
effect and global climate change on the planet. May
also cause landfill explosion

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 Sanitary Landfill

• The term "landfill" usually refers to a

municipal or sanitary landfill

• These structures became widespread in the

1970s in an attempt to eliminate open
landfills as hazardous to the environment

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 Sanitary Landfill vs Open Landfill
Sanitary Landfill Open Landfill

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 Sanitary Landfill
• Sanitary landfills are engineering facilities that
separate and retain waste. In fact, these
landfills are large bioreactors in which
microorganisms break down complex organic
matter into simpler and less toxic substances

• Landfills must be designed to exacting

standards. Design and operation are carried
out taking into account the possibility of
maximizing the properties of the waste and
the advantages of the allotted area
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 What Methods are Used at Sanitary
Landfills?

• Isolation of waste, ensuring complete sanitary and

epidemiological safety of the population living outside
the sanitary protection zone, and safety of personnel
serving the landfill
• Ensuring the static stability of waste stored at the
landfill, taking into account the dynamics of gas
release, hydrological conditions and waste compaction
• The possibility of further use of the land after the
landfill is closed

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 Degradation Processes in Landfills
• Municipal waste landfills are very heterogeneous in
terms of waste composition and the disposed
materials are subject to a wide range of physical,
biological and chemical processes

• The microbiological processes can be described

according to the ageing process of the landfill

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 Phase I: Initial adjustment
• During the first phase, aerobic bacteria (bacteria that are able to live and develop
in the presence of oxygen) break down all the long molecular chains of
carbohydrates, proteins, lipids that make up organic waste (mainly food waste).

• 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.

• The main product of this process is carbon dioxide, as well as nitrogen - the
amount of which gradually decreases over the life of the landfill

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 Phase I: Initial adjustment

• The first phase lasts as long as there is enough

oxygen in the waste, and it can take months (or
only several days if waste is relatively fresh)

• The oxygen content varies greatly depending

on the degree of compaction and on how
deeply the waste is buried.

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 Phase II: Transition 
Phase
• The second phase begins when all the oxygen in the waste has
already been used up.

• The O2 is rapidly degraded by the existing microbial populations.

• The decreasing O2 leads to less aerobic and more anaerobic

conditions in the layers.

• Now the main role is played by anaerobic bacteria, which convert

substances created by their aerobic counterparts into acetic,
formic and lactic acid, as well as into ethyl and methyl alcohol

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 Phase II: Anaerobic Acidogenic Phase

• The primary electron acceptors during transition

are nitrates and sulphates since O2 is rapidly
displaced by CO2 in the effluent gas.

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 Phase III: Acid formation
• 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).
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 Phase III: Acid formation
• High concentrations of VFAs increase both the biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) and VOA concentrations, which initiates H 2 production
by fermentative bacteria, which stimulates the growth of H 2-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.
 Phase IV: Methane fermentation
• 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.
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Phase IV: Final Aerobic Phase

• It begins when the composition and level of gas

production at the landfill becomes relatively
stable
• At this stage, landfill gas contains 45 to 60
percent methane (by volume), 40 to 60 percent
carbon dioxide, and 2 to 9 percent of other
gases, in particular sulfur compounds
• This phase can last for about 20 years, though
even 50 years after the landfill is closed it
continues to emit gases
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Phase V: Final Maturation and Stabilization

• The rate of microbiological activity slows during the

last phase of waste decomposition as the supply of
nutrients limits the chemical reactions

• Methane production almost completely disappears,

with oxygen and oxidized species gradually
reappearing in the gas wells as oxygen permeates
downwardly from the troposphere

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Phase V: Final Maturation and Stabilization

• This transforms the oxidation–reduction potential in

the leachate toward oxidative processes

• The residual organic materials may incrementally be

converted to the gas phase, and as organic matter is
composted

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 Waste Decomposition Time
• Different types of waste have quite definite
decomposition times that vary from literally a
couple of days to several thousand years, and
throughout this period they can have a negative
impact on the environment

• The following factors can influence the

decomposition period of certain types of waste:
Origin of garbage; Material (plastic, metal, etc.);
Location (open landfill, soil composition,
availability of water and air, etc.)

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 Common Types of Waste

• FOOD WASTE [Decomposition period 30 days]. This

type of waste includes food residues, vegetable
peelings, expired food products, etc. Such waste does
not pose a serious threat to the environment

• PAPER [Decomposition period 1-4 month]. This

material is very beneficial to use for recycling. It
doesn’t harm the environment, especially if there is
access to oxygen, so it can quickly decompose

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 Common Types of Waste
• GLASS [Decomposition time over 1000 years]. It is one of the
most common types of waste. This is the type of waste that can
be used and reused as many times as possible, thus spending
resources much more practical. Such waste does not harm the
environment (unless its small fragments enter the esophagus of
animals)
• BRICKS AND CONCRETE [Decomposition period 100 years].
These building materials are the most widespread and do not
harm the environment. However, many other materials used in
the construction industry are very dangerous. For example,
paints that must be disposed in special ways

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 Common Types of Waste
• RUBBER TIRES [Decomposition period 120-140 years].
Rubber is one of the most durable materials. There are
ways to process rubber, but they are not widely available.
Landfills filled with rubber are a source of highly
hazardous toxic substances
• PLASTIC BOTTLES [Decomposition time 180-200 years].
One of the most global environmental problems is
environmental pollution by various plastics and plastic
bags. There is currently no way to quickly and safely
dispose plastic waste.

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Landfilling can be done by three methods :
1) Trench method
2) Area method
3) Ramp method