•  Landfill Engineering
  •  Bioreactors
  •  Landfill Gas
  •  Planning
  •  Facilities
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   An Alternative to "Dry Tombs"

The bioreactor technology is gaining popularity in North America and Europe, and has been demonstrated at various landfills. A bioreactor landfill is a sanitary landfill that uses enhanced microbiological processes to transform and stabilize the decomposable organic waste within 5 to 10 years of implementation, compared to 30 to 100 years for "dry" Subtitle D landfills. Engineered bioreactor landfills (see Figure 1, below) can provide a more controlled means by which society can reduce the environmental impacts of landfills on the surrounding local environment.

Are you interested in the latest direction in EPA's Subtitle D program?  We have prepared a summary.

Benefits

Engineered bioreactor landfills can provide the following economic and societal benefits:

• Accelerated waste biodegradation/stabilization.
• A means for recovery of capacity (air space).
• Minimized long-term environmental risk and liability.
• Reduction in post-closure care and maintenance.
• Decreased concentration of most leachate constituents as cycling of leachate removes or reduces contaminants.
• Reduction in the amount of leachate that the facility discharges to the local wastewater treatment plant, and subsequent discharge of effluent to the local environment.
• Affects gas yields to favor more economical utilization projects in the earlier years of the landfill life while reducing the greenhouse gas burden in the subsequent years.
• By extending the life of a landfill, it delays construction of new landfills.

Planning and Design

The planning and designing of a bioreactor landfill requires knowledge of the following:

• Landfill design and operation,
• Waste stream characteristics,
• Leachate quantity and quality,
• Leachate enhancement with nutrients, and
• Dynamics of waste degradation.

Legal issues, regulatory constraints, costs constraints, and public input may also influence planning and design. Because the system must function over the life of the landfill, SCS designs are flexible enough to be adapted to regulatory changes, technological advances, economic conditions, and variation in waste and leachate characteristics.

Our Services

SCS is an international leader in research, planning, design, and operation of laboratory and field scale bioreactor cells. Since 1970, SCS has been successfully providing landfill-related services. We have considerable experience in retrofitting leachate management to existing landfills, and installing advanced leachate containment systems, such as what initiated the bioreactor concept. This thorough understanding of the design and dynamics of the landfill uniquely qualifies us to address bioreactor and leachate management issues. We recognize that a bioreactor landfill operation requires more than leachate management and is not a stand-alone process, but must be integrated into the overall landfill management scheme.

SCS can also provide additional services relevant to bioreactor landfills:

• Landfill Operations: Operations planning for solid waste landfills including site life estimates, fill sequencing, winterization plans, scheduling of new cell design and construction.
• Leachate Management: Evaluation, design, and construction of leachate re-circulation systems to enhance degradation of wastes, i.e. bioreactor cell.
• Water Quality Sampling: Collection and analysis of groundwater samples at solid waste landfills.
• Quarterly Monitoring Reports: Preparation of quarterly groundwater monitoring reports for solid waste landfills including statistical evaluation of data.
• Permitting: Landfill permits (preliminary and final closure plans), environmental impact analyses (CEQA), storm water management (NPDES), air quality permits, and construction/operation permits.
• EIR Support: Delineation of wetlands, endangered species evaluations, negotiations, and mitigation plans.
• Landfill Design: Liner systems; geotechnical/slope stability analyses; leachate collection/treatment; LFG control and recovery; operations plans; and construction plans, specifications, and cost estimates.
• Landfill Closure: Final cover design; financial planning/life cycle costing; closure/post-closure construction plans, specifications, and cost estimates; long-term monitoring and corrective action; and post-closure planning.
• Site Investigations: Hydrogeologic characterizations, hydrology/drainage, and LFG assessments.
• Landfill Gas Management: Turn-key design, permitting, construction, and operation of LFG monitoring and control facilities.
• Construction Quality Assurance: CQA observation, testing, and documentation for landfill expansion and closure.
• Construction Management: Bid request and evaluation, contractor selection, construction observation, and resident engineering services.