MOST people object to having a landfill near their houses. We generate rubbish but once it enters the dustbins or recycling bin, we want nothing more to do with it.
The main reason is fear of possible health problems arising from contact with pollutants escaping from waste management sites, but the problem is set to grow over the next decade due to our throwaway lifestyle.
Each year, we produce more than nine million tons of household waste, but only recycle 3% of it. There is no positive sign that waste generation is decreasing. As a result, a large number of former mines and quarries have been lined with water-proof material and filled with rubbish. As suburbia spreads and brown field sites are developed, more Malaysian families than ever before are living close to landfill sites.
In landfill sites, bacteria break down food and other organic materials, producing potentially pollution liquids and gases such as ammonia, acids and heavy metals, mixed into a nasty cocktail called leachate.
All these contaminants are cause for concern if they end up in natural
water-courser and drinking water supplies. Many such cases have been recorded lately in Malaysia.
Leachate can destroy the well balanced eco-system and is very harmful to human. It is clear that poorly managed landfill will lead to serious environmental problem such as the recent incidence of raw water pollution caused by leachate seepage from a landfill.
Hence, leachate management becomes an important issue in deciding which strategy to apply in any planning process involving the closure of dumps and siting and development of landfills. The main objective of any leachate management will be to ensure that landfill waste does not impose any unacceptable short term or long term risks to the environment or to public health.
ETHAYA RAJAN MOKANATAS,
Kuala Lumpur.
No comments:
Post a Comment