SUSTAINABLE LANDFILL - POSSIBILITY OR PIPE-DREAM

Too often a sustainable landfill is described in terms of operational technique (e.g. bioreactor landfill or repository for pretreated waste ) rather than the more appropriate goal of managing a landfill such th at the environmental risk is acceptable. The technique that achieves t he lowest risk landfill will vary according to a number of factors inc luding the waste composition, climate and local geology/hydrogeology, and will vary from country to country, region to region, and site to s ite. A truly sustainable landfill is one in which the waste materials are safely assimilated into the surrounding environment, whether or no t they have been treated by biological, thermal or other processes, an d which manages gas-related problems so as to minimize the environment al impact. This is more likely to be achieved in containment landfills , but recognizing that liner failure will occur ultimately, and that i n the long term, the escape of waste materials and their products of d egradation is inevitable. Appropriate site selection, design and manag ement is crucial to the attainment of more sustainable waste managemen t. (C) 1997 ISWA.