Why We Place Caps on Old Landfills and How It Is Done
Landfill Problems - A Landfill Site Anatomy
This article applies to all typical RCRA Subtitle C Landfill Cap Systems, and is an educational guide only read the USEPA guides before taking any action.
The placing of a sealing layer from rain over a landfill is usually done to:
* Reduce exposure on the surface of the waste landfill.
* Avert vertical penetration of water into wastes that would produce contaminated leachate.
* Confine waste while treatment is being applied.
* Keep in check gas emissions from underlying waste.
* Give rise to a soil surface that can support plant life and/or exist for added purposes.
Landfill Capping is the most widespread form of remediation as it is in general less costly than other technologies and in effect manages the human being and ecological risks coupled with a remediation location.
The strategy of landfill caps is location specific plus depends resting on the intended functions of the scheme. Landfill Caps can stretch from a one-layer system of vegetated top soil to a multifaceted multi-layer method of soils and geosynthetics. In general, a lesser amount of complex systems are necessary in arid climates and more intricate systems are required in damp climates. The material used in the building of landfill caps involve low-permeability and high-permeability soils and low-permeability geosynthetic products. The low-permeability materials divert water and avoid its passage into the garbage. The high permeability materials convey water away that percolates into the cap. Other materials can be used to enhance slope stability.
The most vital components of a landfill cap are the barrier layer and the drainage layer. The barrier layer can be low-permeability soil (clay) and/or geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs). A flexible geomembrane liner is placed resting on the barrier layer. Geomembranes are as a rule supplied in bulky rolls and are available in quite a few thickness (20 to 140 mil), widths (15 to 100 ft), and lengths (180 to 840 ft). The contender list of polymers commonly used is extensive, which includes polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylenes of a range of densities, reinforced chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSPE-R), polypropylene, ethylene interpolymer alloy (EIA), and several newcomers. Soils used as barrier materials in the main are clays that are flattened to a hydraulic conductivity no greater than 1 x 10-6 cm/sec. Compacted soil barriers are usually installed in 6-inch minimum lifts to accomplish a thickness of 2 feet or more. A composite barrier uses together soil and a geomembrane, taking advantage of the properties of each one. The geomembrane is in effect impermeable, but, if it develops a leakage, the soil component prevents noteworthy escape into the underlying trash.
For facilities over putrescible wastes, the gathering and control of methane and carbon dioxide, powerful greenhouse gases, must be part of facility design and operation.
Concrete Cap/Asphalt
The most effective single-layer caps are composed of concrete or bituminous asphalt. It is used to construct a surface barrier sandwiched between landfill and the environment. An asphalt concrete cap would lessen leaching through the landfill into an aquifer.
Subtitle C Capping Layer
The RCRA C multilayered landfill cap is a baseline design that is recommended for use in RCRA hazardous waste applications. These caps generally consist of an upper vegetative (topsoil) layer, a drainage layer, and a low permeability layer which consists of a synthetic lining over 2 feet of compacted clay. The compacted clay liners are effective if they hold on to a specific dampness content but are inclined to cracking if the clay material is dried. As a result alternate cap designs are usually considered designed for arid environments.
D Subtitle Cap – RCRA
RCRA Subtitle D requirements are for non-hazardous garbage landfills. The design of a landfill cover for a RCRA Subtitle D facility is usually a function of the bottom lining arrangement or native subsoils present. The cover must meet the following conditions:
* the material should maintain a permeability no greater than 1 x 10-5 cm/s, or equal permeability of any underside liner or natural subsoils there, whichever is less.
* The layer to keep the waste dry must contain at least 45 cm of subsoil material type.
* The erosion control layer must be at least 15 cm of earthen material capable of sustaining native plant development.
Different design can be considered, but must be be of parallel performance as the specifications outlined above. Every covers must remain designed to prevent the “bathtub” effect. The bathtub effect occurs as soon as a more permeable cover is positioned above a less permeable bottom liner or natural subsoil. The landfill subsequently fills up reminiscent of a bathtub.
Green Shipping Containers – How Green Are They?
Now I don’t mean by this that I am going to talk to you about painting your second hand containers green so it blends into the countryside. This blog is about how by buying a shipping container you can flex your environmentally friendly muscles and feel good about the fact that you have done your bit to help the planet (and got a really good product into the bargain!!).
- Image by nicolas.boullosa via Flickr
If you decide to buy second hand containers then, obviously, you are recycling an industrial product by giving it a new life. Most people use their ex-shipping containers as a means of storage. With the addition of a lockbox and a hardened steel shackle padlock you have a storage container that is not only extremely secure but has a whole new useful purpose.
New/once used shipping containers also can be environmentally friendly. When used as part of a construction project these containers can be erected in much less time (and therefore use much less energy) than traditional construction methods. A recent well known example of this was the Travelodge in Uxbridge. Costs were a third . less than a traditional build, and construction took a matter of months. All achieved by using purpose built containers which were put together in no time on site.
Both a new shipping container and used storage container can be converted into affordable housing that is ideal for enabling nurses, teachers, students etc to live near to their place of work/study. This reduces the carbon footprint by abolishing the need to commute.
On the subject of accommodation, shipping container conversions slot easily into towns and cities without requiring much – if any – additional infrastructure. They can be easily transported onto brown field sites and connected up with minimum disturbance to their surroundings.
The flat roof of a new shipping container or second hand containers is ideal for housing solar panels or growing a “green roof”. The use of ceramic thermal paint for insulation means that the containers themselves are often better insulation than traditional houses.
Shipping Containers are often used as receptacles for recycling. Think of the containers where you put your old newspapers in car parks for example. 10ft containers are frequently used to recycle clothes, shoes and the like.
Charities re-use shipping containers to transport items such as medical equipment, classroom furniture, books and clothes (all of which are being recycled themselves) to Africa etc. Afterwards the container is often used to provide the community with additional covered space.
At the end of a used storage container useful life it can be totally re-used by recycling the steel and wood and turning them into something else.
These days going green and doing your bit for the environment has never been so popular. Often, however, it involves additional effort and compromise. With a new shipping container or second hand containers not only are you going green by giving an essentially industrial item a new purpose but you will have a supremely adaptable and long lasting practical product helping you in your everyday life – in whatever role you have chosen for it!!
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Recycling Cans Could Help The Enviroment
February 27, 2009 by Contributor
Filed under Recycle
Food and drinks cans make up around three percent of household waste that is thrown away by households in the UK on a daily basis. Around 75 percent of all drinks cans in the UK are made from aluminium although there are still almost 2 billion drinks cans that are made from steel. Food cans are often called tins because although they are made from steel, they have an ultra thin layer of tin that surrounds them.
- Image via Wikipedia
If we consider that an average household goes through around 600 steel cans and 200 aluminium cans a year then it isnt hard to imagine the staggering amount of waste that is being generated by each and every one of us annually. We cannot go on burying this waste in landfill sites as the pressure on landfill sites is now nearing capacity and the estimations are that we will run out of space for new landfill sites within the next decade. For more information visit Enviromental technology
At the moment, approximately 80 percent of our household waste goes to landfill sites and as the amount of waste we produce is increasing each year we have to find new and creative ways of disposing of our waste. Landfill is no longer a viable option, not only because there isnt any space, but because landfill sites are not pleasant. There are risks associated with landfill that include the risk of explosion and also a risk of leakage of toxic pollutants into the surrounding earth and waterways which can present a health risk.
Basically, landfill sites are a threat to the environment so disposing of our waste in an environmentally friendly way that saves resources, energy and costs should be a matter of concern for all of us. Fortunately, more and more people are waking up to the idea of recycling. Local authorities also recognise the advantages of recycling and so roadside collections and the number of collection banks where you can deposit waste is on the increase.
Why recycle cans?
Cans are one of the easiest items to recycle and the fact is, each and every can that ends up in landfill is a waste of a valuable resource and heres why. Producing new metal to make new cans depletes the earth of natural resources, such as iron, coal and water to make steel and bauxite to make aluminium and basically it costs more to produce new metal than it does to recycle it.
For example, recycling aluminium not only uses 95 percent less energy than it does to produce new aluminium if we recycle just 1kg of aluminium it saves 6kg of Bauxite. Similarly, if we recycle 1 tonne of steel it saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore, half a tonne of coal, and uses 75 percent less energy than it does to make new steel. Recycling any type of metal reduces the CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere, reduces water pollution and massively reduces costs in general. For more information visit enviromental products
Cans are also 100 percent recyclable and can be recycled almost indefinitely without any loss of quality to the metal itself. Recycling metal is also a relatively simple process, in fact; it can take as little as six weeks for aluminium cans to be back on the supermarket shelves after collection.
One of the barriers to recycling other materials is the demand for the product. Take plastic for example; it can be cheaper to produce new plastic than to recycle it so there is less of a demand for used plastic. However, there is a great demand for used metal, so much so that there are schemes in operation that will pay you cash for your used aluminium cans.
Another barrier is sorting the waste. Sorting broken bits of glass can be a complex process but sorting aluminium from steel is not difficult. You can tell the difference between aluminium and steel using a simple magnet. If it sticks it is steel, which makes separation of steel very easy as magnets can be used to extract it.
So bearing in mind all the advantages involved in recycling cans, why are any food or drinks cans still ending up in landfill?
How you can make a difference
The truth is that we can all do more to protect the environment if we remember that each can dumped in landfill is a real waste. You can make a difference at home and at work by making sure that your cans are recycled and are not disposed of along with other rubbish. If kerbside collection is not available in your area yet, find out where the nearest collection bank or collection scheme is and deposit your cans there. If we all do our bit we can all benefit from a healthier environment and can preserve the earths resources for future generations.
Refer to environmental for more information.
What’s the Basic Recycling Process for Paper
Most of us don’t think about recycling much past when the driver picks it up or we drop it off at the local recycling center. Of course, the process of making new material from used items is important, but in the course of everyday life it just doesn’t make it through all of the other concerns in the day. You could schedule a visit to the closest recycling plant and see what the recycling process for paper looks like up close and personal. Most companies are more than willing to share the process and information behind taking scrap paper and making it usable again. After all, that is the best way to really show people that their efforts matter. However, it’s a little faster to learn about the recycling paper process by reading about it.
- Image via Wikipedia
Nothing can happen in the recycling paper process without one very important element.People willing to make the time and save their paper products are vital to the success of any recycling effort.The entire recycling process starts with you, the consumer, in other words. Whether you drop your stuff off at the handy recycling bin or have it picked up by a service, the process can’t start until you become a part of it.
Once the paper makes it to the center, the first step is pulping. In the recycling process for paper, this means that water is added to large amounts of used paper and agitated to produce pulp.After the paper is sufficiently broken down, the pulp is pushed through a series of screens to separate the larger pieces of contaminants from the useable paper pulp. The somewhat clean paper pulp is then placed in a machine that uses centrifugal cleaning to spin more of the debris from the paper pulp.
The next step in the recycling process for paper is to remove the ink. The water and paper pulp mixture is treated to a flotation treatment.Surfactant causes the ink to release from the paper and float to the surface for easy removal.The pulp is now ready to be kneaded and broken into fibers further.he final washing is done with clean water, removing any contaminants or particles that is still hanging on.If the paper is intended to be non-color, workers will initiate a bleaching process.
The recycling process for paper is then concluded with presses to form the new, paper into its proper shape and size.As you know, recycled paper and paper products bear the famous recycling logo so you can pick products that were made with environmentally safe techniques.
Placing Your Recyclables With Curbside Recycling On Collection Day
November 21, 2008 by Contributor
Filed under Recycle
Curbside Recycling
Do you know how to use a curbside recycling program? Surely you already know the incredible benefit you are providing your planet because, if you do not, then you need to see those benefits in action.t is a great thing because there is just so much room at the landfill site and only so much trash can be put there. Plastics and other recycled materials can take decades to break down. You can do your part by taking part in a great movement to help save the environment.
Image via Wikipedia
Curbside recycling works when people separate their regular garbage from compost materials and recyclables and put it all out for the sanitation department to pick up. The downside is that some areas, especially in small towns, do not have a recycling program.
This means that you may have to drive to a larger area and take your recyclables to their local processing center. The best advice is to contact local recycling centers to see what they take and when is best to either drop-off or to get a pick-up.
Environmental services
Doing your part has never been easier. You can easily separate your garbage as you throw it away, if you utilize waste bins to collect the trash. The most important tip for dealing with garbage is to always rinse out any containers that you throw away.
It will definitely keep the smell down and help out the collectors just an extra bit. But simply putting your garbage out on the street may not be good enough for you. Perhaps you need to know how your recycling bins is actually used. You may be surprised by all the ways recycled material is put to good use by waste disposal programs.
These days, in many playgrounds, you will see rubber mats beneath the playground equipment. These rubber mats are made from old plastics and other rubber goods that have been recycled. While you are at the playground, also take a look at the benches.
Recycling bins
Many benches are being made out of recycled plastics but it does not stop there. That note the kids are passing may be written on recycled paper. The parking lot may be made from recycled glass and asphalt.
The different ways curbside recycling work is astounding. It is one thing to put your plastic water bottle into a bin and quite another to see the marvelous ways it is being reused.
It is positive reinforcement that your actions are helping the environment in very great ways and is a great example to be teaching our children. Keeping this planet clean is our number one priority and should be pursued actively.
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Home Composting Tips With With Green Waste
November 20, 2008 by Contributor
Filed under Recycle
Green Waste
In order to ease the problems of overflowing landfills, more and more cities and towns around the country are opening up recycling centers which allows people to drop off their yard waste. This green waste is then used for large-scale composting projects.
Image via Wikipedia
In some areas, the resulting compost is used to fertilize public parks and other public facilities and in some municipalities, the composts are made available to citizens for home fertilizer usage.
Green waste
This use of waste recycling on a municipal level has helped to reduce the burden on the landfills, while making people more aware of the importance of organic waste recycling and of the benefits of composting.
At the same time, the parks and recreational departments are able to cut their budgets for fertilizer and soil treatments by utilizing the compost to treat and improve the soil in the parks. Some cities also use the compost to support the community vegetable garden projects as well.
The most commonly used raw materials that are used for these composting projects are the abundant yard waste materials such as fallen leaves, grass clippings, hedge and shrub trimmings, and small-size, pruned tree branches. Larger branches and trees can also be run through a chipper and the mulch can be added to the compost, as well as the many Christmas trees that are chipped and shredded each year.
Of course, individual households can easily compost their yard debris as well, without needing to either wait for the pick-up schedule or for their municipality to institute such a program.
Home composting
Backyard composting is quite simple to start and there are compost bins available on the market for those with small or large backyards. Even those who live in apartments can enjoy the benefits of recycling their organic kitchen waste.
In fact, home composting can be a better solution. This is because most municipalities exclude certain organic waste products from the public composting piles that can readily be added to your composting project.
For instance, at home you can include newspaper, coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, fruit rinds and vegetable peels. Most of the time you cannot include any of these items with your yard waste for curbside pickup.
With backyard composting, you can include all of these items right alongside of your yard waste and debris and throw it all right on your compost heap . However, you should never include animal meat, bones, pet feces, or any dairy products. These waste items will simply attract vermin and pests to your backyard and interfere with the decomposition process.
Compost heap
Some municipalities have enjoyed a 20% decrease in the volume of material going into their landfills by recycling yard waste. This small action is extending the capacity of the landfills and giving the decision makers a chance to come up with additional solutions to their landfill problems.
Homeowners can do their part in helping by either separating their green waste for pickup or by starting their own compost heap.
More information on Green Waste:
