Selecting the Best Site for a Sanitary Landfill
Faustino P. Villamor
Department of Agronomy and Soil Science
Visayas State College of Agriculture, Baybay, Leyte 6521-A
ABSTRACT
Sanitary landfill is an excavated trench about 5 meters deep where garbage are dumped, campacted and covered with a thin layer of soil. It is a very efficient way of disposing garbage. However their establishment is being prevented by fears of air and groundwater polltion and spread of diseases by insects inhabiting the sanitary landfill. This paper discusses the requirements for the selection of the site for a sanitary landfill so such fears can be avoided.
Soils for a sanitary landfill should have a soil layer with saturated hydraulic conductivity of 1 to 2" per hour and and no bedrock or water table at 1.3 m below trench bottom. The soil should have <25% gravel, <25% slope, loamy, pH 5.5-7.9 and does not experience flooding. This site should also be at least 8 kms from residences.
INTRODUCTION
Garbage is a big problem in towns and cities. In some cases they are dumped in rivers which cause their pollution of clogging, or to the sea causing pollution of beaches, or to areas near roads where passers-by can smell the foul odor. Clogged rivers cause flooding as run-off can not be discharged to the ocean or any wetlands. Garbage also cause the spread of diseases . . . . read more
