location assessment for landfills

The selection of a location for a modern consumer waste landfill is not only influenced by static, geologic or logistic factors, but also by general building approvals and legal conditions. Despite all the differences, the avoidance or reduction of leak water passing into the underground or to the aquifers is the main priority. The scope and the costs for the development of the landfill area are therefore primarily determined by the geologic conditions. A natural clay layer barrier can significantly reduce the costs of creating an artificial barrier. In some countries this is mostly still a sufficient criterion for selecting a location. In Germany, however, only locations with natural and multiple artificial base sealing designs will be approved.

For a comprehensive site location study, a couple of further significant factors have to be examined and analysed. Amongst these are e. g. the transport distance, the transport logistics and the depth of waste assortment, the site capacity and the options for site extensions, the landfill surroundings with synergy and excluding criteria, the possibilities of leak water drainage and conditioning, smell and noise contamination, the acceptance as well as the options of connecting to the public power grid. The generation of an assessment-matrix and extensive locations studies and analyses are only to be realised appropriately with extensive knowledge.