Saturday, April 26, 2014

Report on Leachate Management Solutions Offered in Recent Articles

Let's start this article about leachate management by going back to basics and defining what we mean by the term leachate, and the way I suggest that we do that is to refer to the recent post from ET Environmental which gives a clear definition for any one reading this page who is unsure:
When liquid passes through trash material, such as in a landfill, “leachate” is generated. Rainwater is the largest contributing factor of leachate, but natural decomposition and discarded chemicals also contribute Credits: Leachate: What is it? - ET Environmental


Leachate management is the planned operation of landfill sites in such a way as to avoid the production of leachate as far as practicable, and to drain, collect, treat as necessary, and dispose responsibly of the leachate which is not prevented.

So, now that leachate has been defined we look further around the web and find that there is a discussion of managing landfill leachate seepages (often called "breakouts" in the waste industry), below the final capping membrane at Waste360.com, as follows:
Leachate seeping out of landfill slopes is a common occurrence. Operators struggle to address leachate seeps and manage liquids reaching landfill boundaries. During dry spells, it takes less effort on the part of operators to control liquids on landfill surfaces, and seeps are therefore more manageable. But during periods with frequent storm events or in high-precipitation regions, landfill operators must work constantly on slopes to stop seeps or devise means to control liquids when they do ...Credits: The Use of Leachate Toe Drain Systems Can Deal with Seeps After ...


The authors must be referring to landfills in very wet climates, as such seeps should not normally occur when landfill cells are covered rapidly after filling to avoid the potential for vermin to breed, and for odor production, as required by sanitary landfill procedures (US), or the EU Landfill Directives and related regulations.

Rather than build temporary toe drain systems at substantial cost it is normally recognized to be better to plan the cellular construction of a landfill for smaller cells and to bring those cells up to completion at the surface of the landfill as quickly as possible. Capping and restoration of areas of the landfill prevents further rainfall ingress and that not only allows a permanent landfill gas extraction system to be installed as soon as possible for maximum landfill gas capture, but minimizes leachate production. That's the best form of leachate management there is, namely - make sure that the landfill produces as little as possible!

While browsing for leachate management solutions, we found our own website back in 2011/12, which contains some articles on the subject, namely:

The starting point in any discussion about UK/ EU leachate management techniques is to begin by stating the overriding rule upon which all landfills are operated, in compliance with the EU Landfill Directive. That is that as far ... Credits: Leachate Management Techniques | The Leachate Expert Website

However, perhaps the best page about leachate management is to be found on the leachate Wikipedia page.

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