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Safe Disposal of Solid Waste in Landfill

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Waste and Recycling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2023) | Viewed by 10390

Special Issue Editors

School of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Interests: numerical simulation of liquid–gas migration in bioreactor landfills; constitutive model of a solid waste considering biodegradation; geophysical investigations of leachate distribution landfills

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Guest Editor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Interests: landfill stability; leachate and gas flow in landfills; MSW properties

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues:

Landfill is still the primary means to deal with municipal solid waste (MSW) in many countries, and it will predominate as the primary treatment method for waste residues in the long run. However, landfills have the potential to exacerbate some environmental problems including instability failure, leachate leakage, and landfill gas emission. To avoid the occurrence of these environmental issues and to achieve the goal of safe and sustainable landfills, a large amount of effort by both engineers and researchers is still necessary.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect a wide range of studies regarding safe and sustainable landfills; both research articles and review articles as well as case studies are welcome for submission. The potential areas and topics include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of MSW in landfills; (2) basic properties of MSW and fly ash; (3) leachate and gas flow in landfills; (4) thermal properties of MSW and temperature in landfills; (5) coupled behaviors of MSW and landfill safety; (6) evaluation and assessments of landfill; (7) field measurement and tests in landfills; (8) environmental issues in and around landfills; (9) recycle and reuse of landfill resources; (10) policy and regulations about landfills.

Other topics related to MSW management and landfill safety are also welcome. This Special Issue is expected to provide innovative and sustainable techniques for waste disposal in landfills, and to enhance the understanding of safe disposal and sustainable landfills for human beings.

Dr. Shifeng Lu
Dr. Benyi Cao
Dr. Zhengwei Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • landfill
  • municipal solid waste
  • fly ash
  • leachate and landfill gas
  • sewage sludge
  • safe disposal
  • evaluation and assessments of landfill
  • recycle and reuse

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1577 KiB  
Article
Chemical Composition and Toxicological Evaluation of Landfill Leachate from Białystok, Poland
by Agata Jabłońska-Trypuć, Elżbieta Wołejko, Urszula Wydro, Jacek Leszczyński, Mariola Wasil and Anna Kiełtyka-Dadasiewicz
Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16497; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316497 - 1 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1299
Abstract
Leachates from landfills constitute a very complex environmental matrix with potentially toxic properties for both the environment and humans. Due to this fact, toxicological tests were carried out on landfill leachate (LL) obtained from the local landfill in Hryniewicze (Poland). The analyses included [...] Read more.
Leachates from landfills constitute a very complex environmental matrix with potentially toxic properties for both the environment and humans. Due to this fact, toxicological tests were carried out on landfill leachate (LL) obtained from the local landfill in Hryniewicze (Poland). The analyses included physicochemical studies of leachates and their impact on soil and plants, and studies conducted in bacterial models and human cell models. The results obtained indicate high contents of metals and organic matter, especially dangerous PAHs, in the tested leachate. This results in the influence of LL on changes in the content of assimilation pigments and oxidative stress observed in plants grown in soil fed with leachates. The effect of leachate on the growth of Sporosarcina pasteurii, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Saccharomyces boulardii and Candida albicans varied depending on the strain and LL dose. A particularly significant increase in proliferation after exposure to LL was noted for S. aureus. In studies conducted on human cancer cell lines representing three types of glioblastomas and one type of colorectal adenocarcinoma, a particularly significant increase in the viability of cells treated with LL was noted for the DLD-1 cell line. The results obtained, especially the stimulation of the growth of cancer cells and an increase in the number of pathogenic bacteria, indicate the potential toxic properties of the tested leachates. This is confirmed by the high level of oxidative stress in plants. The results indicate the need for continuous monitoring of waste landfills and leachates generated there. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safe Disposal of Solid Waste in Landfill)
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10 pages, 4934 KiB  
Communication
Non-Invasive Characterization of Subsurface Barriers Constructed via Deep Soil Mixing for Contaminated Land Containment
by Xiaohan Wang, Benyi Cao, Guoqing Jiang, Tongxiao Shang and Jian Xu
Sustainability 2023, 15(8), 6783; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15086783 - 17 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1405
Abstract
Deep soil mixing has been widely used to construct subsurface barriers (cut-off walls) in contaminated sites for contamination containment. Non-invasive geophysical methods are promising for the characterization and assessment of such barriers. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the [...] Read more.
Deep soil mixing has been widely used to construct subsurface barriers (cut-off walls) in contaminated sites for contamination containment. Non-invasive geophysical methods are promising for the characterization and assessment of such barriers. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the characterization performance of four geophysical methods (i.e., electrical resistivity tomography, ground-penetrating radar, seismic imaging, and the transient Rayleigh surface wave method) for a subsurface barrier built using soil-mixing technology. The electrical resistivity tomography results show that the overall resistivity of the stratum on the barrier wall increased markedly, and local defects such as pockets of clay appeared as low-resistance anomalies on the resistivity profile. In contrast, the ground radar method failed to make a reasonable evaluation of the quality of the barrier wall because the surrounding environment caused great noise interference. The seismic mapping method had a better performance when the lateral geological conditions were studied. It is also suggested that to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the surface wave signal, a vibrator with stronger energy should be used, and if conditions permit, the surrounding vibration sources should be shut down during geophysical tests. It is therefore recommended that decision makers and engineers consider using a combination of geophysical methods to evaluate the quality of barrier walls. They should also pay close attention to the specific geological conditions of a survey area, such as the presence of saltwater layers and interference from nearby structures, in order to choose the most appropriate method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safe Disposal of Solid Waste in Landfill)
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17 pages, 4221 KiB  
Article
Strength and Environmental Behaviours of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash for Cement-Stabilised Soil
by Zonghui Liu, Jiaqi Li, Liqiang Hu, Xiaolei Zhang, Shiying Ding and Haodong Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 364; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010364 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2129
Abstract
Many sandy soil foundations need to be solidified during traffic construction in Guangxi, China. Because it has a similar chemical composition as cement, municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) can strengthen sandy soil. However, the chloride ions and heavy metals in MSWIFA [...] Read more.
Many sandy soil foundations need to be solidified during traffic construction in Guangxi, China. Because it has a similar chemical composition as cement, municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) can strengthen sandy soil. However, the chloride ions and heavy metals in MSWIFA may have a negative influence on the solidification of sandy soil. Thus, FA resource use faces great challenges. This study evaluates the feasibility of using MSWIFA to solidify sandy soil. The acetic acid buffer solution method was used in the leaching test to simulate the weak acid groundwater environment in the Guangxi karst landform. The effects of the treatment methods (washing with ferrous sulphate solution, pre-treatment of organics via chelation, and adding sugarcane ash) on the strength and environmental characteristics of fly ash cement-stabilised soil (FACS) are discussed in detail. The results indicate that the FACS unconfined compressive strength (UCS) decreased by 24.82–46.64% when 5% cement was replaced with FA. Sugarcane ash effectively improved the strength of FACS by more than 10%. The leaching concentrations of Zn and Cu in the FACS meet the concentration limit set by GB 16889-2008. The leaching concentrations of Cr and Pb after washing with 6% ferrous sulphate solution were reduced by more than 30%. Meanwhile, the FACS strength developed faster. Organic chelating agents solidified most heavy metals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safe Disposal of Solid Waste in Landfill)
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Review

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13 pages, 1137 KiB  
Review
Causes, Types and Consequences of Municipal Waste Landfill Fires—Literature Review
by Dominika Dabrowska, Wojciech Rykala and Vahid Nourani
Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5713; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075713 - 24 Mar 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4895
Abstract
The amount of municipal waste produced worldwide has seen a significant increase in recent years. The need to store waste is a significant problem in the context of environmental threats and spatial development. Due to the fact that the easiest way to reduce [...] Read more.
The amount of municipal waste produced worldwide has seen a significant increase in recent years. The need to store waste is a significant problem in the context of environmental threats and spatial development. Due to the fact that the easiest way to reduce the amount of waste is to incinerate it, and despite the fact that waste incineration plants have existed since the late 1800s, the amount of illegal waste burning and landfills has also increased. Subsurface landfill fires are particularly dangerous, as they can affect the structure of the landfill. Methane also plays an important role in fires as it is flammable and contributes to the spread of fire. In addition, the leachate from incinerated waste is much more dangerous than the leachate from waste in its natural state. The effluents from incinerated waste include heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, as well as sulphates, chlorides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Other pollutants also end up in the atmosphere. The aim of this article is to present the problem of landfill fires and their impact on air, soil, and water, based on a review of the selected documented fires as well as indicators of fires in the areas in which the authors of this article conducted their research. The article presents an overview of methods and tests, such as dynamic leaching tests, monitoring tests, and lysimetric tests, all of which can be implemented to prevent fires as well as for research purposes after a fire has occurred, so that this article can be utilitarian not only for researchers, but also for decision makers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Safe Disposal of Solid Waste in Landfill)
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