MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

MANAGEMENT

Mr.P.MUTHURAMAN
Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Department
V V College of Engineering,
Tisaiyanvillai
 UNIT V
DISPOSAL
Dumping of solid waste; sanitary landfills – site selection,
design and operation of sanitary landfills – Leachate
collection & treatment

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 DISPOSAL
• Disposal is the final element in the SWM system.
• It is the ultimate fate of all solid wastes, be they residential wastes
collected and transported directly to a landfill site, semisolid waste
(sludge) from municipal and industrial treatment plants, incinerator
residue, compost or other substances from various solid waste
processing plants that are of no further use to society.
• In solid waste management disposal is one of basic programs that has to
be done with maximum precautions.
• If it is not done effectively and efficiently, the whole program will not be
satisfactory.
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 Objectives of Solid WasteDisposal
• Improvement of esthetic appearance of the environment
• Avoidance of smells and unsightliness.
• Reduction of disease by curtailing fly and rodent breeding
• Prevention of human and stray dogs from scavenging

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 Problems in Solid Waste Disposal
• Health hazards (e.g., residents in the vicinity of wastes inhale dust
and smoke when the wastes are burnt; workers and rag pickers come
into direct contact with wastes, etc.);
• Pollution due to smoke;
• Pollution from waste leachate and gas;
• Blockage of open drains and sewers.

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 Recommendation of Disposal Site
• The disposal site to be 30 meters from water sources in order to
prevent possible contamination
• Prevention of underground waster pollution should be taken into
account
• Radioactive materials and explosives should not be together.
• Site should be fenced to keep way scavengers.
• All surface of dump should be covered with materials
• All wastes should be dumped in layers and compacted.
• Disposal site should be about 500 meters from residential areas

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 Solid Waste Disposal Methods
1. Ordinary open dumping
2. Controlled tipping/burial
3. Hog feeding
4. Incineration
5. Sanitary landfill
6. Composting
7. Grinding and discharge in to sewer
8. Dumping into water bodies
9. Disposal of corpus
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1. Open dumping
• Some components of solid waste such as street sweepings, ashes and
non combustible rubbish are suitable for open dumping.
• Garbage and any other mixed solid wastes are not fit or suitable
because of nuisance and health hazard creation.
• Generally, solid waste is spread over a large area, providing sources of
food and harborage for flies, rats and other vermin.
• It causes unsightly odor and smoke nuisance and hazards.
• The location of open dumping must be carefully chosen so that there
will be a minimum chance of complaints from near by residents.

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 Open dumping
• This is the most common method being practised in many parts of
the world, and India is no exception.
• In this method, wastes are dumped at a designated site without any
environmental control.
• They tend to remain there for a long period of time, pose health risks
and cause environmental degradation.
• Due to the adverse health and environmental impact associated with
it, the non-engineered disposal is not considered a viable and safe
option.

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Advantage of open dumping
• ƒ Can take care of all types of solid wastes except garbage
• ƒ It causes less health problem if proper site is selected.
• ƒ Needs less labor and supervision
Disadvantage of open dumping
• ƒAttraction of flies, mosquitoes and other insects as well as stray dogs,
rats, and other animals.
• ƒCreation of breeding sites for rodents, arthropods and other vermin
• Creation of smoke, odor and nuisance
• ƒ It makes the lands and other surrounding areas useless.
• ƒ It leads to cuts and wounds.
• ƒ It attracts scavengers, both humans and animals.

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 The following points should be kept in mind and must be considered
before selection and locating sites for open dumping.
• Sources of water supply and distance from it
• ƒ Direction of wind
• ƒ Distance from nearest residents near by farm areas and main land
• ƒDistance that flies can travel from disposal site to the living quarter
as well as the distance that the rodents can travel from disposal areas
and living quarters.

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 2. Controlled tipping / burial
• Indiscriminate dumping of garbage and rubbish create favorable
conditions for fly-breeding, harborage and food for rodents, nuisances
etc.
• In order to avoid such problems, garbage and rubbish should be
disposed of under sanitary conditions.
• One of the simpler and cheaper methods is burning garbage and rubbish
under controlled conditions.
• Controlled or engineered burial is known as Controlled Tipping or
Sanitary Land Fill System.
• This particular option of waste disposal is suitable when the land is
available at an affordable price, and adequate workforce and technical
resources are availableP.MUTHURAMAN
to operate and manage the site.
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• In places where there is no organized service, this system can be done
by digging shallow 2 trenches, laying down the generated waste in an
orderly manner, compacting the waste manually or mechanically and
covering with adequate depth of earth or ash at the end of each day’s
work.
• The process is repeated each day systematically at appropriate
locations.
• If properly done this system can prevent fly-breeding, rodent
harborage, mosquito-breeding and nuisances.
• It can be applied in areas where appropriate land is available for such
practice.
• This system can be considered an adaptation of what is technically
called the SANITARY LAND FILL system in municipal solid wastes
management service.
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 STEPS IN SANITARY LAND FILL
• Choosing suitable site, usually waste land to be reclaimed within
reasonable distance from habitation.
• Transporting the generated wastes to the site by appropriately
designed vehicles.
• Laying the wastes in appropriate heap to a pre-determined height.
• Compacting the layer mechanically
• Covering the compacted layer with a thin layer of earth 22 cm depth
at the end of each work day.
• The same steps are repeated for each work period.

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• A sanitary landfill is essentially a landfill, where proper
mechanisms are available to control the environmental risks
associated with the disposal of wastes and to make available the
land, subsequent to disposal, for other purposes.
• Principle
• The purpose of land filling is to bury or alter the chemical
composition of the wastes so that they do not pose any threat to the
environment or public health.
• Landfills are not homogeneous and are usually made up of cells in
which a discrete volume of waste is kept isolated from adjacent waste
cells by a suitable barrier.
• The barriers between cells generally consist of a layer of natural
soil (i.e., clay), which restricts downward or lateral escape of the waste
constituents or leachate.
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Sanitary Landfill

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 Phases in the life cycle of a landfill
Planning phase:
• This typically involves preliminary hydro-geological and geo-technical
site investigations as a basis for actual design.
Construction phase:
• This involves earthworks, road and facility construction and preparation
(liners and drains) of the fill area.
Operation phase (5 – 20 years):
• This phase has a high intensity of traffic, work at the front of the
fill, operation of environmental installations and completion of
finished sections.

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 Phases in the life cycle of a landfill
Completed phase (20 – 100 years):
• This phase involves the termination of the actual filling to the time
when the environmental installations need no longer be operated.
• The emissions may have by then decreased to a level where they do
not need any further treatment and can be discharged freely
into the surroundings.
Final storage phase:
• In this phase, the landfill is integrated into the surroundings for
other purposes, and no longer needs special attention.

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 Landfill Processes
(i) Site selection process and considerations:
• This requires the development of a working plan – a plan, or a
series of plans, outlining the development and descriptions of
site location, operation, engineering and site restoration.
• Considerations for site include public opinion, traffic patterns
and congestion, climate, zoning requirements, availability of cover
material and liner as well, high trees or buffer in the site
perimeter, historic buildings, and endangered species, wetlands, and
site land environmental factors, speed limits, underpass limitations,
load limits on roadways, bridge capacities, and proximity of major
roadways, haul distance, hydrology and detours.
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 (ii) Settling Process:
• The waste body of a landfill undergoes different stages of settling
or deformation.

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Primary consolidation:
• During this stage, a substantial amount of settling occurs.
• This settlement is caused by the weight of the waste layers.
• The movement of trucks, bulldozers or mechanical compactors will also
enhance this process.
• After this primary consolidation, or short-term deformation stage,
aerobic degradation processes occur.
Secondary compression:
• During this stage, the rate of settling is much lower than that in
the primary consolidation stage, as the settling occurs through
compression, which cannot be enhanced.

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Decomposition:
• During the degradation processes, organic material is converted into
gas and leachate.
• The settling rate during this stage increases compared to the
secondary compression stage, and continues until all decomposable
organic matter is degraded.
• The settling rate, however, gradually decreases with the passage of
time.
• To appropriately design protective liners, and gas and leachate
collection systems, it is, therefore, necessary to have a proper
knowledge of the settling process of wastes.

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 (iii) Microbial Degradation Process
• The microbial degradation process is the most important biological
process occurring in a landfill.
• These processes induce changes in the chemical and physical
environment within the waste body, which determine the quality of
leachate and both the quality and quantity of landfill gas.
• Assuming that landfills mostly receive organic wastes, microbial
processes will dominate the stabilisation of the waste and
therefore govern landfill gas generation and leachate composition.
• Soon after disposal, the predominant part of the wastes becomes
anaerobic, and the bacteria will start degrading the solid organic
carbon, eventually to produce carbon dioxide and methane.

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 Enhancement of Degradation
• Enhancement of the degradation processes in landfills will result in
a faster stabilisation of the waste in the landfill, which enhances gas
production.
Adding partly composted waste
• As the readily degradable organic matter has already been
decomposed aerobically, the rapid acid production phase is
overcome, and the balance of acid and methane production bacteria can
develop earlier and the consequent dilution effect lowers the organic
acid concentration.
Re circulating leachate
• This may have positive effects since a slow increase in moisture will
cause a long period of gas production.
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 Landfill gas and leachate
• Leachate and landfill gas comprise the major hazards associated with
a landfill.
• While leachate may contaminate the surrounding land and water,
landfill gas can be toxic and lead to global warming and explosion
leading to human catastrophe .
• Note that global warming, also known as greenhouse effect,
refers to the warming of the earth’s atmosphere by the accumulation
of gases (e.g., methane, carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons) that
absorbs reflected solar radiation.)

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The factors, which affect the production
of leachate and landfill gas
1. Nature of waste
• The deposition of waste containing biodegradable matter invariably
leads to the production of gas and leachate, and the amount depends
on the content of biodegradable material in the waste.
2. Moisture content
• Most micro-organisms require a minimum of approximately 12%
(by weight) moisture for growth, and thus the moisture content
of landfill waste is an important factor in determining the
amount and extent of leachate and gas production.

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3. pH:
• The methanogenic bacteria within a landfill produce methane gas, which
will grow only at low pH range around neutrality.
4. Particle size and density:
• The size of waste particle affects the density that can be achieved
upon compaction and affects the surface area and hence volume.
• Both affect moisture absorption and therefore are potential for
biological degradation.
5. Temperature:
• An increase in temperature tends to increase gas production.
• The temperature affects the microbial activity to the extent that it is
possible to segregate bacteria, according to their optimum temperature
operating conditions.
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 The overall
breakdown of solid waste can be
represented by the following equation:

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 LANDFILL GAS
• Landfill gas contains a high percentage of methane due to the
anaerobic decomposition of organic matter, which can be utilised as a
source of energy.
• Methane: This is a colourless, odourless and flammable gas with a
density lighter than air, typically making up 50 – 60% of the landfill gas.
• Carbon dioxide: This is a colourless, odourless and non-
inflammable gas that is denser than air, typically accounting for 30 –
40%.
• Oxygen: The flammability of methane depends on the percentage of
oxygen. It is, therefore, important to control oxygen levels, where
gas abstraction is undertaken.
• Nitrogen: This is essentially inert and will have little effect, except
to modify the explosive range of methane.
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 Hazards - Landfill gas
• Landfill gas consists of a mixture of flammable, asphyxiating and noxious
gases and may be hazardous to health and safety, and hence the need for
precautions.
Explosion and fire
• Methane is flammable in air within the range of 5 – 15% by volume, while
hydrogen is flammable within the range of 4.1 – 7.5% (in the presence of
oxygen) and potentially explosive.
Trace components
• These comprise mostly alkanes and alkenes, and their oxidation products
such as aldehydes, alcohols and esters . Many of them are recognised as
toxicants, when present in air at concentrations above occupational
exposure standards.
Global warming
• Known also as greenhouse effect, it is the warming of the earth’s
atmosphere by the accumulation
P.MUTHURAMAN of gases
ASSISTANT (methane, car bon dioxide and
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chlorofluorocarbons) that absorbs reflected solar radiation.
 LEACHATE FORMATION
• Leachate can pollute both groundwater and surface water supplies.
The degree of pollution will depend on local geology and hydrogeology,
nature of waste and the proximity of susceptible receptors.
• Once groundwater is contaminated, it is very costly to clean it up.
Landfills, therefore, undergo siting, design and construction
procedures that control leachate migration.

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• Leachate comprises soluble components of waste and its degradation
products enter water, as it percolates through the landfill. The
amount of leachate generated depends on:
• water availability;
• landfill surface condition;
• refuse state;
• condition of surrounding strata.
• Common toxic components in leachate are ammonia and heavy metals,
which can be hazardous even at low levels, if they accumulate in the
food chain.
• The presence of ammoniacal nitrogen means that leachate often has to
be treated off-site before being discharged to a sewer, since there is
no natural bio-chemical path for its removal
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 Leachate Control
• The best way to control leachate is through prevention, which should
be integral to the site design.
• In most cases, it is necessary to control liquid access, collection
and treatment.
1.Natural liners:
• These refer to compacted clay or shale, bitumen or soil
sealants, etc., and are generally less permeable, resistant to chemical
attack and have good sorption properties.
• They generally do not act as true containment barriers, because
sometimes leachate migrates through them.

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Synthetic (geo-membrane) liners:
• These are typically made up of high or medium density polyethylene
and are generally less permeable, easy to install, relatively strong
and have good deformation characteristics.
• They sometimes expand or shrink according to temperature and age.
• Note that natural and geo-membrane liners are often combined to
enhance the overall efficiency of the containment system.
• Some of the leachate collection systems include impermeable liner,
granular material, collection piping, leachate storage tank; leachate is
trucked to a wastewater treatment facility.

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 Treatment
• Concentrations of various substances occurring in leachate are too
high to be discharged to surface water or into a sewer system.
• These concentrations, therefore, have to be reduced by removal,
treatment or both.
1. Leachate recirculation:
• It is one of the simplest forms of treatment.
• Recirculation of leachate reduces the hazardous nature of
leachate and helps wet the waste, increasing its potential for
biological degradation.

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2. Biological treatment:
• This removes BOD, ammonia and suspended solids.
• Leachate from land filled waste can be readily degraded by
biological means, due to high content of volatile fatty acids (VFAs).
• The common methods are aerated lagoons (i.e., special devices which
enhance the aerobic processes of degradation of organic substances
over the entire depth of the tank) and activated sludge process,
which differs from aerated lagoons in that discharged sludge is
recirculated and is often used for BOD and ammonia removal.
3. Physicochemical treatment:
• After biological degradation, effluents still contain significant
concentrations of different substances. Physicochemical treatment
processes could be installed to improve the leachate effluent quality.
• Some of these processes are flocculation-precipitation.
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 Operation
1. Methods of filling
1. Trench method:
• This involves the excavation of a trench into which waste is
deposited, and the excavated material is then used as cover.

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2. Area method:
• Wastes may be deposited in layers and so form terraces over the
available area.
• However, with this type of operation, excessive leachate generation
may occur, which may render the control difficult.

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3. Cell method:
• This method involves the deposition of wastes within preconstructed
bounded area.
• It is now the preferred method in the industrialised world, since it
encourages the concept of progressive filling and restoration.
4. Canyon/depression:
• This method refers to the placing of suitable wastes against lined
canyon or ravine slide slopes. (Slope stability and leachate gas emission
control are critical issues for this type of waste placement.)

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 2. Refuse placement
• The working space should be sufficiently extensive to permit vehicles
to manoeuvre and unload quickly and safely without impeding refuse
spreading, and allow easy operation of the site equipment.
• Depositing waste in thin layers and using a compactor enables a high
waste density to be achieved.
• Each progressive layer should not be more than 30 cm thick.
• The number of passes by a machine over the waste determines
the level of compaction.

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 3. Covering of waste
• At the end of each working day, all exposed surfaces, including
the flanks and working space, should be covered with a suitable
inert material to a depth of at least 15 cm.
• This daily cover is considered essential, as it minimises windblown
litter and helps reduce odours.
• Cover material may be obtained from on- site excavations or
inert waste materials coming to the site.
• Pulverised fuel ash or sewage sludge can also be used for this purpose.

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 4. Site equipment and workforce
orientation
• The equipment most commonly used on landfill sites includes
steel wheeled compactors, tracked dozers, loaders, earthmovers
and hydraulic excavators.
• Scrapers are used for excavating and moving cover materials. In
addition to appropriate equipment, proper training must be ensured
for the workforce.
• They should be competent, and adequately supervised; training
should include site safety and first aid.

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 5. Monitoring
• Landfill represents a complex process of transforming polluting
wastes into environmentally acceptable deposits.
• Because of the complexity of these processes and their
potential environmental effects, it is imperative to monitor and
confirm that the landfill works, as expected.
• A monitoring scheme, for example, is required for collecting
detailed information on the development of leachate and landfill
gas within and beyond a landfill.
• The scheme should be site specific, drawn at the site investigation
stage and implemented.
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 Advantages of sanitary landfill
• It is relatively economical and acceptable method
• Initial investment is low compared to other proven methods
• The system is flexible - can accommodate increase in population may
result in low collection cost, as it permits continued collection of
refuses.
• All types of refuses may be disposed of.
• The site may be located close to or in populated areas, thus reducing the
length of hauling cost of collection
• It enables the reclaiming of depression and sub marginal lands for use
and benefits of the community
• Completed landfill areas can be used for agricultural and other purpose •
unsightliness, health hazards and nuisance of open dumping can be
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 Disadvantages of sanitary landfill
• Sometimes suitable land within economical hauling distance may not be
available.
• Relatively large areas of land are required.
• Slow decomposition of refuse in fill
• An adequate supply of good earth cover may not be readily accessible.
• If not properly located seepage from fills into streams may increase
the chance for stream pollution.
• Needs a careful and continuous supervision by skilled personnel.
• If not properly done can deteriorate into open dumping. (ordinary
dumping)
• Special equipment are required.
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 III. Hog feeding
• The feeding of garbage to hogs has been practiced for many years in
different parts of the world.
• But there is surprising high incidence of trichinosis among hogs which
are fed with uncooked garbage.
• Consumption of insufficiently cooked meat from hogs is believed to be
the main source of trichinosis.
• Hogs which are fed on garbage containing hogs scraps and slaughter
house offal are very likely to be infected.
• Also rats living around the slaughter house are infected and there is
possibility that hog eats dead rats.
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 IV. Incineration
• Incineration is a process of burning the combustible components of
garbage and refuse.
• Disposal of solid waste by incineration can be effectively carried out
in small scale in food service establishments as well as in institutions
such as hospitals, schools etc.
• The disadvantage of this method isthat only combustible materials are
incinerated, hence there is a need for separation of the waste into
combustible and non-combustible.
• The noncombustible needs separate disposal.
• Generally there are two types of incinerators, the open and the
closed systems.
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 On-site Incineration
• This term applies to incineration of refuse at home, office, apartment
house, commercial building, hospital or industrial site.
• Refuse collection and disposal could be much reduced satisfactory by
using on-site incineration. Generally, air-pollution can be expected.
• Advantages of an incinerator
• 1. Less land is required than for landfills
• 2. A central location is possible - allow short hauling for the collection
service.
• 3. Ash and other residue produced are free of organic matter,
nuisance- free, and acceptable as fill material.

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4. Many kinds of refuse can be burned. Even non-combustible materials
will be reduced in bulk.
5. Climate or unusual weather does not affect it.
6. Flexibility is possible - no restriction for its operation
7. Getting income through the sale of waste heat for steam or power is
possible.
Disadvantages of an incinerator
1. Initial cost is high - during construction
2. Operating cost is relatively high
3. Skilled employees are required for operation and maintenance
4. There may be difficulty in getting a site.

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 Comparison of landfills Vs Incinerator
Sl.No Sanitary land fills Incinerators
1 Low initial cost High initial cost
2 May change location Fixed location
3 Low operational cost Variable, may cost much money
4 Increased land value Desirable site may be expensive
5 Complete and final disposal Ash, cans, bottle etc. disposed of
for all refuses separately
6 Needs large land area Does not need large land area
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 6. Composting
• Composting is an effective method of solid waste disposal.
• In composting, biodegradable materials break down through natural
processes and produce humus.
• It involves the aerobic biological decomposition of organic materials
to produce a stable humus-like product.
• Biodegradation is a natural, ongoing biological process that is a
common occurrence in both human-made and natural environments.

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7. Grinding and discharge into sewers
lines
• There are three methods for the disposal of garbage into sewers.
• 1. Installation of individual grinders in houses and commercial
establishments.
• 2. Installation of municipally operated grinding station located
centrally.
• 3. Installation of grinders at sewage treatment plant and discharge
grounded materials directly into incoming raw sewage or digestion
tanks.

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 8. Dumping into water bodies
• The dumping of solid waste into water bodies such as streams, rivers,
lakes, seas, and oceans was once been one of the means of disposal.
• This is still practiced in some cities and towns located on banks of
rivers or sea shores, even though it can be ineffective due to the
washing of the wastes to the shores and interference of sanitation of
the bathing area.
• Such a disposal method would be effective if the risk to animals (fish)
is taken into consideration and direction of wind blow looked before
dumping.

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 9. Disposal of dead bodies
• There are certain methods that can be practiced in relation to disposal
of dead bodies.
1. Embalming
• To delay the purification of dead bodies by injection of preservatives.
2. Cremating
• Burning of dead bodies which are practiced in certain religious sectors.
• It is considered to be the best and sanitary method.
• In addition, it helps in conservation of land .
• It is cheap as far as cost is concerned. .

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3. Disposal into water bodies.
• This method is usually practiced by travelers in sea water such as
Fishers, Naval forces and those army forces deal with submarines.
4. Burial into the ground
• It is the most common, old and traditional method practiced in area
where there is no digging and land problem.
• The minimum depth for such method is 2 meter.
• It should be undisturbed for another burial in the same pit.

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Discussions?