Usually, aerobic decomposition is the first stage by which wastes are broken down in a landfill. These reactors must be designed and operated according to regulatory standards and guidelines (See environmental engineering). Sanitary landfills are intended as biological reactors ( bioreactors) in which microbes will break down complex organic waste into simpler, less toxic compounds over time. The sanitary landfill is an engineered facility that separates and confines waste. These facilities were first introduced early in the 20th century, but gained wide use in the 1960s and 1970s, in an effort to eliminate open dumps and other 'unsanitary' waste disposal practices. The term landfill is usually shorthand for a municipal landfill or sanitary landfill. Factors such as waste compressibility, waste-layer thickness and the number of passes of the compactor over the waste affect the waste densities. Waste compaction is critical to extending the life of the landfill. The space that is occupied daily by the compacted waste and the cover material is called a daily cell. Blankets can be lifted into place at night and then removed the following day prior to waste placement. Alternative waste-cover materials include chipped wood or other 'green waste', several sprayed-on foam products, chemically 'fixed' bio-solids, and temporary blankets. Typically, in the working face, the compacted waste is covered with soil or alternative materials daily. The use of 'rail-haul' permits landfills to be located at more remote sites, without the problems associated with many truck trips. In addition to trucks, some landfills may have equipment to handle railroad containers.

The weighing process can assemble statistics on the daily incoming waste tonnage, which databases can retain for record keeping. If necessary, they return to the weighbridge for re-weighing without their load. Before leaving the landfill boundaries, the waste collection vehicles may pass through a wheel-cleaning facility. After loads are deposited, compactors or bulldozers can spread and compact the waste on the working face. Afterward, the waste collection vehicles use the existing road network on their way to the tipping face or working front, where they unload their contents. They can also cover waste (usually daily) with layers of soil or other types of material such as woodchips and fine particles.ĭuring landfill operations, a scale or weighbridge may weigh waste collection vehicles on arrival and personnel may inspect loads for wastes that do not accord with the landfill's waste-acceptance criteria. confine waste to as small an area as possible.

Operators of well-run landfills for non-hazardous waste meet predefined specifications by applying techniques to: Garbage dumped in the middle of a road in Karachi

Dryden transfer station