Improved Management Practices for a Georgia Landfill

Proceedings of the 1999 Georgia Water Resources Conference, March 30 and 31, Athens, Georgia.Uncontrolled anaerobic bioreduction in landfills is a slow metabolic process that generates high levels of methane and trace amounts of other noxious gases. To determine the potential for using leachate recirculation and air injection as a means for converting anaerobic processes to more rapid aerobic processes, and to significantly reduce production of methane, a ±2.5 acre, 70000 yd ³ cell within a sanitary municipal solid waste landfill located near Atlanta, Georgia was selected as a test site where methane was used as the primary parameter indicating associative aerobic/anaerobic activity levels. Results indicate significant decreases in initial methane and CO₂ levels from 46% and 54% to averages of 10% and 20% respectively. Temperatures for the more exothermic aerobic reactions were kept under control through leachate recirculation while leachate quality was not negatively impacted. Respirometry data on bulk material indicated a high percentage of inert, high quality compost-like material after 10 months.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202 with partial funding provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, geological Survey, through the Georgia Water Research Insttitute as authorized by the Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397). The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of the University of Georgia or the U.S. Geological Survey or the conference sponsors