Impacts of landfill disposal of construction and demolition waste (CDW)

Abstract: Growing population, industrialization and infrastructure development have resulted in enormous waste generation over the past decades. The disposal of vast amounts of waste remains a major challenge. However, in the globalized world recycling has become a main option for managing wastes while in other parts of the globe, landfilling is resorted to because of waste handling difficulties. South Africa is one of many countries where landfilling activities is high, as roughly 75 % of daily generated solid waste is disposed in landfills. This includes massive amounts of construction and demolition wastes (CDW) from reconstruction and development activities. South Africa depends on landfilling as a system of waste management which in the foreseeable future would linger on till feasible recycling options are initiated. Consequentially, the generation and seepage of leachate into soil, ground and surface water reserves is probable in such dump sites due to exposure of the waste bodies to rain and run-off water. A bespoke device was used in the study to investigate the impacts of disposing CDW in open dumps with mind for an unlined site relying on the geology of the area as worst case scenario. To generate leachate, the device was coupled with CDW in a bottom chamber and de-ionized water seeped through from a reservoir. Arsenic, Copper and Chromium from the generated leachate were analyzed by full spectral method on the effluent and were compared to South African standard of drinking water. Although, concentration levels of the targeted ions decreased through the test, it was clear that if CDW is not properly disposed, could contribute to consequential impacts on human and environmental health over time. Keywords Leachate, Landfill, Construction and Demolition Waste, Bespoke device