Today, globally, waste management is one of the biggest challenges in managing urban waste. With the increasing consumption rate of various goods and the manufacturing of those goods, a significant amount of waste is generated. If not managed properly, this waste can be hazardous to health and cause irreversible health issues. To combat this issue, landfills are created to dump the waste without it coming in contact with people. However, a key challenge is that most landfills were created outside the perimeters of human dwelling and today they’re part of the urban landscape within city limits. As a result, the risks that come with contamination are much higher than the decades prior.
The landfills are man-made large sites in open grounds that can hold tonnes of waste below the land surface. A protective capping layer is installed to prevent waste contamination from penetrating the soil. In this blog, we will understand the crucial role of landfill capping in waste management, examining its significance and how it can contribute to a healthier environment.
Landfill capping, a protective layer installed above the waste collected in a landfill, acts as a robust shield. It prevents harmful contaminants from the waste from seeping into the soil or the underground water, thereby ensuring the safety of our environment. These covers, also known as caps, play a vital role in isolating the contaminants and preventing them from spreading above the surface, thus ensuring they don’t come into contact with humans or other living beings.
In earlier times, natural layers of clay, gravel, sand, etc., were used to keep the contaminants from polluting the water and soil. However, as the waste became more hazardous, this capping became outdated. The cost to procure the material for these layers was also hefty. This led to the evolution of landfill capping solutions, with modern materials like geosynthetics taking the forefront. This transition is not only intriguing but also a testament to our continuous efforts in waste management.
The landfills are man-made large sites in open grounds that can hold tonnes of waste below the land surface. A protective capping layer is installed to prevent waste contamination from penetrating the soil. In this blog, we will understand the crucial role of landfill capping in waste management, examining its significance and how it can contribute to a healthier environment.
Depending on the waste disposed of, landfills are broadly divided into four types: Municipal solid waste, industrial waste, hazardous waste, and green waste. Each type of waste requires different controlled disposal practices and is disposed of accordingly.
Municipal solid waste comprises waste generated in general households. This can include wet waste (generated in the kitchen) and dry waste (wrappers, cardboard, tissues, paper, etc.). MSW landfills are highly monitored with strict rules and regulations. These regulations include selecting landfill sites, operating practices, capping measures, and level of contamination penetration. This type of landfill is enclosed in four layers: geosynthetic capping, drainage system, gas collecting chamber, and waste. Every layer mentioned above is closely monitored to prevent environmental contamination.
They mostly contain concrete and debris, which is why they are also known as C&D landfills. The waste brought into these landfills is not disposed of at first. The waste is sorted into two categories: reusable materials and waste material. The reusable material is then resold to local buyers or businesses. The waste material is in the landfill and treated under controlled circumstances.
These are specially structured and highly monitored with zero human interactions. Hazardous wastes such as batteries, corrosive metals, harmful chemicals, crude waste, pesticides, etc., are usually dumped in these landfills. Hazardous waste landfills are designed to virtually remove the chances of contaminants being released into the environment. These landfills are designed with multiple layers, which include double capping with impermeable liners, double leachate collection system, gas collection system and waste. In addition, the landfills undergo rigorous checkups and yearly maintenance with strict monitoring regulations.
As the name suggests, green waste landfills offer a place to store green waste, i.e., organic material. The waste stored in these landfills generates organic compost through decomposition. These are often composting facilities, and while not typically regulated as strictly as MSW or hazardous landfills, they still follow environmental guidelines. They play a significant role in multiple ways. Such as:
Click here for details on types of landfills and their expansion process.
Strata Geosystems has always been a pioneer in providing the best geosynthetic materials. They offer products that can be applied in landfill construction. Strata is outstanding in the market.
From reinforced steep slopes and site perimeter haul roads to retaining walls and other infrastructure, Strata’s structural geosynthetic materials provide stability, longevity, durability and structure even on the weakest subgrades. These products allow you to construct over soft and fragile subsoils with MSE berms, veneer stability and landfill caps.
Strata Geosystems supplies specially designed MSE (Mechanically Stabilised Earth) berms. These berms use geogrid materials and soil to build a grade separation that lets the landfills expand vertically as and when they need more space.
Strata Geosystems’ geosynthetic materials also provide veneer stability for linear support in landfills. In some cases, soil alone cannot bear the load of the landfill structure. In such cases, veneer stability is provided by geomaterials to provide more stability and ensure a robust foundation.
The landfill capping system provided by Strata Geosystems comprises geosynthetic layers that act as protective layers. It prevents the contaminants and moisture from penetrating through the subsoils.
Products by Strata Geosystems play a significant role in providing top-notch landfill drainage solutions. Here’s how:
Throughout a landfill, the waste excretes harmful contaminants, also known as leachate, which is collected at the base. This harmful collection of gases and liquids requires proper disposal as it may contaminate the surroundings. For this process, the proper drainage system, which consists of StrataDrain (geocomposite drain) and drainage pipes, is installed at the landfill’s base.
Furthermore, a double- or single-liner drainage system is installed depending on the type of waste collected in the landfill and the groundwater level. The drainage liner system comprises a geomembrane, StrataDrain, and geotextile layer. StrataDrain allows the leachate to flow out through the installed drainage system.
Usually, two layers of StrataDrain are installed. The first layer is used for draining out the leachate, and the second layer, installed above the first layer, works as a leak detector. If there is a leak in the first layer, the second layer works as a backup drainage system and detects the leakage. It then allows the collected leachate to flow through it and pass through the drainage system for proper disposal.
Rainwater accumulated over the landfill’s closed surface area must be collected and properly channeled to the drainage area. Another important aspect of capping is gas and leachate collection. The gasses generated within the waste collected should be ventilated safely. These gasses are disposed of using pipes and chimneys.
Traditionally, a thick layer of aggregates ranging from 300 to 600 mm was used for efficient gas drainage into collection systems and rainwater drainage to underground water collection systems. Ever since geomaterials were introduced, they have effectively replaced the aggregate layers. Using StrataDrain will effectively remove the requirement for conventional materials like aggregates, ultimately reducing carbon footprint, providing more storage capacity, and decreasing costs.
Easy installation and low cost are not the only benefits of StrataDrain. There are other major benefits of using this geomaterial for landfill capping. These benefits are as follows:
Let’s check one of the case studies to explain the efficiency of landfill capping done by Strata Geosystems in more detail.
Strata showcased its excellence in innovative environmental solutions through the Surface Sealing and Post-Closure Maintenance project at Villena’s Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Treatment Plant Landfill. This project required a mandatory approach to carefully cap the landfill keeping in mind the environmental protection.
Strata offered rainwater drainage systems and gas collection design and delivery through our StrataDrain drainage geocomposite range. We also reinforced steep slopes at the sides of landfills and strengthened them using our another innovative geosynthetic product StrataGrid.
One of the significant technical challenges in the project was the anchor trench design where it has to be fitted in a very constricted space. In this regard, we developed a tailored installation methodology specific to the project requirements and solved the issue of the extremely constricted space. The landfill needed some adjustable solutions due to its intricate topography and we managed to adjust their geosynthetic solutions for this terrain as per requirement.
Strata solutions offered various advantages compared to the conventional approaches using gravel and common geotextiles:
For the complicated topography of the Villena landfill, Strata adapted its geosynthetic solutions, showing their competency in dealing with the most complex environmental engineering issues and satisfying the client demand for a kind of landfill closure that is secure and environmentally friendly.
Therefore, landfill capping stands as an important aspect of constructing landfills. It ensures that no harmful contaminants, called leachates, contaminate the groundwater and subsoil above it. Landfill capping is a protective layer, enabling a proper drainage system for harmful chemicals. Traditional layers are made of aggregates, sand, and other natural materials that have become outdated over the years because of their cost and difficulty in installation. These layers are successfully replaced by geomaterials like StrataDrain, which are easy to install and are highly recommended. Another reason for this replacement is that these geosynthetic materials take less space than traditional natural materials, providing more space for waste storage.
StrataDrain has significantly upgraded the landfill construction by providing durability, stability and longevity to the structure. Our geocomposite has high tensile strength and is relatively easy on pockets as compared to other materials. To learn more about StrataDrain, contact us today!
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Director, President – Glen Raven Technical Fabrics
Strata/Glen Raven tenure: 10 years/28 years
Total industry experience: 35 years
MBA – Wake Forest University
Directs the strategic direction of Glen Raven’s automotive, protective apparel, military, geogrid, outdoor and logistic businesses.
Director, General Manager, Strata Inc.
Strata/Strata Inc. tenure: 3 years/14 years
Total industry experience: 25 years
MBA – Georgia State University
Led the integration of Strata Inc. business operations into the headquarters of GRTF and transition from USA based to India based manufacturing.
Director
Strata tenure: 17 years
Total industry experience: 47 years
CA – ICA
Played a key role in the establishment of Strata’s India operations. Provides vision for product innovation and leveraging new technology trends.
Global Technical Sales Director
Strata tenure: 7 years
Total industry experience: 32 years
Civil & Geotechnical Engineer (First class)
Provides highly technical and innovative civil engineering solutions in India and around the world. Responsible for the design and execution of large-scale geotechnical projects around the world including Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and South America.
CTO – Chief Technology Officer
Strata tenure: 9 years
Total industry experience: 48 years
BTech (Hons), MTech (Civil) Both IIT Bombay, DMS (Bombay University), FIE, FIGS, Chartered Engineer
Streamlines the designs of Geosynthetics and has brought innovation in geogrid and geocell design application.
COO – Projects and Sales
Strata tenure: 13 years
Total industry experience: 24 years
MBA – University of Gujarat
Leads the monetization of products and solutions while ensuring highest execution quality and project profitability.
COO – Technical Textiles
Strata tenure: 13 years
Total industry experience: 33 years
BE (Mechanical) – Nagpur University
Drives excellence in process design, product features and cost effectiveness in production.
CFO – Chief Financial Officer
Strata tenure: 8 years
Total industry experience: 35 years
CA – ICA, ICWA – ICWAI
Leads the finance, accounting, taxation, commercial, legal and IT functions and assisting on all strategic and operational matters.
CDO – Chief Development Officer
Strata tenure: 10 years
Total industry experience: 13 years
MBA – ISB, Hyderabad
Leads diversification of the product portfolio, monetizing the new products and ensuring successful sustained financial growth of the company top line.
CEO – Chief Executive Officer
Strata tenure: 14 years
Total industry experience: 42 years
B Tech (Chemical) – IIT Delhi
Leads day-to-day business operations of the company with focus on capacity expansion, product and process improvement.
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