Question

Q12. Discuss how you would run a sanitary landfilling operation in your city. Be sure to include the technical (operational requirements), economic and environmental health considerations.

Answer 1

Sanitary landfilling operation

1. Full or partial hydrogeological isolation- Leachate collection and treatment must be stressed as a basic requirement.

2. A waste disposal plan and a final restoration plan should also be developed.

3. The waste should be confined to as small an area as possible, compacted to reduce their volume and covered with layers of soil.

4. Random inspections of incoming loads.

5. Public access to landfills must be controlled by artificial or natural barriers to prevent unauthorized vehicular traffic and illegal waste dumping.

6. When shredding waste, incoming refuse is mechanically processed into small, uniformly sized pieces immediately before landfilling or at a transfer facility prior to transport.

7. Burning of waste must meet air pollution control regulations. Burning areas should be far from the landfill to avoid igniting other waste.

8. As mandated by the Clean Air Act, landfills should collect landfill gas and prescribe design standards and performance limits for gas extraction systems.

9. Insects and rodants are controlled by covering the waste daily and eliminating standing water.