DE LA SALLE LIPA

COLLEGE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Summative Assessment
Landfill: Is this the Engineering Solution for
Solid Waste Management?

Submitted to Engr. Ovette M. Magsombol

Submitted by
Christienne Simone F. De Jesus of Envi2

July 2021
 I. Introduction
Tons of solid garbage is disposed every day at various landfill sites. This trash is
generated by households, workplaces, industries, and a variety of agricultural operations.
According to Leblanc (2020), solid waste refers to a wide variety of garbage that is
disposed of as undesired and worthless as a product of animal and human activity. In
any community, solid waste management is a necessary service. There are different
methods of solid waste management and one of them is the sanitary landfill. Sanitary
landfills are the most popular E-waste disposal method, to reduce or mitigate possible
hazards to the environment and human health. Landfills are generally located where
existing land features may act as natural barriers between the ecosystem and the waste.
(Li et al., 2009). If trash is not properly kept and handled, it can contaminate the air and
have significant health consequences for humans, wildlife, and the environment.
Therefore, this case analysis will be discussing why landfill, particularly sanitary landfill,
is an engineering solution for waste management.

II. Background Information

According to Britannica, "Solid-waste management, the collecting, treating and
disposing of solid material that is discarded because it has served its purpose or is no
longer useful. Improper disposal of municipal solid waste can create unsanitary
conditions, and these conditions, in turn, can lead to pollution of the environment and to
outbreaks of vector-borne disease—that is, diseases spread by rodents and insects."
Residential, industrial, commercial, institutional, construction and demolition areas,
municipal services, treatment plants and sites, agriculture, and biomedical are the sources
of solid waste. Every year, the world produces 2.01 billion tons of municipal solid garbage,
with at least 33% of that is not being managed in an environmentally sound manner. The
average amount of trash created per person each
day is 0.74 kilos, although it varies greatly, ranging
from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms. According to Plaza
(2017), in the Philippines, there are currently
35,000 tons of municipal solid waste daily and
more than 8,600 tons per day in Metro Manila
alone. Thus according to 2018 data, the Philippines
is the third-largest annual producer of solid trash
in Southeast Asia, with only Thailand and
Figure 1. Global waste composition (percent) Indonesia producing more (Gatchallian, 2018).
According to the graph from World Bank, the largest percentage of garbage which is 44%
of trash, came from food and the least which consists of only 2% came from wood,
rubber, and leather. If trash is not properly kept and handled, it can contaminate the air
and have significant health consequences for humans, wildlife, and the environment.
Wastes pile up and constitute a threat because of inefficient trash disposal methods,
notably by municipal waste management teams. People tidy their houses and workplaces,
but they trash their surroundings, which has an impact on the environment and
community. An improper garbage disposal can also harm the health of those who live
near polluted areas or landfills. The health of trash disposal workers and other personnel
associated with these landfills is also jeopardized. It could also cause disease-causing
pests, various environmental problems that came from toxic metals, hazardous wastes,
and chemicals that are all produced by industry, soil and groundwater pollution, emission
of toxic gases, and impact on land and aquatic animals.

III. Alternatives
Figure 2. Global treatment and disposal of waste (percent)

The Philippines has worked to improve its solid

waste management by enacting RA 9003, the Ecological
Solid Waste Management Act, which establishes a
systematic, comprehensive, and ecological waste
management program to safeguard public health and
the environment. There are numerous methods of solid
waste management namely sanitary landfill,
incineration, recovery and recycling, composting, and
pyrolysis. According to the World Bank, most of the
garbage is now deposited or disposed of in landfills across the world. Based on the second
figure, most disposals went to composting, while there are 25.2% to the landfill and 7.7%
sanitary landfill. A landfill is a final garbage disposal management method on or in the
land. However, there are many sorts of landfills, and one of them is a sanitary landfill. A
sanitary landfill is a pit with a protected bottom where trash is buried in layers and
compressed into a solid mass.

IV. Solution
Sanitary landfills are contemporary engineering landfills that allow trash to break down
into biologically and chemically inert compounds in an enclosed environment. (Chen et
al., 2003; Pruss et al., 1999). According to RA 9003, a sanitary landfill is a "waste disposal
site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that exerts engineering
control over significant potential environmental impacts arising from the development
and operation of the facility." It includes the use of well-designed engineering solutions
to safeguard the environment against solid or liquid waste pollution. When the sanitary
landfill is full, impermeable clay is used to close it up, and the area can then be utilized
for other purposes provided it is considered safe. According to Muralikrishna and
Manickam (2017), because there is no “best way” for all locations, the designer of a
sanitary landfill should dictate the method of construction and the processes to be
followed in the disposal of solid waste. The method used is determined by the physical
circumstances as well as the volume and kind of a solid waste to be treated. Trench and
area landfilling are the two most common Figure 3. Sanitary Landfill Layers

ways; other procedures are merely

variations. When the groundwater table is
low and the soil is more than 6 feet deep, the
trench technique is utilized. It works well on
flat or moderately undulating terrain. The
area technique may be used on any terrain
and is frequently employed when significant
amounts of solid waste must be disposed of.
A mixture of the two approaches is
sometimes utilized at numerous places. On the other hand, layering trash in a big pit is
how sanitary landfills work. There are several layers of waste stacking to aid in the
breakdown of materials and to capture harmful gases emitted during the process. To
prevent the ground from collapsing, the layers are constructed so that the bottom section
has the least volume, and the top part has the largest. The liner system is the first layer.
This is the lowest layer and the first to be utilized in constructing the sanitary landfill's
foundation. This updated form of the sanitary landfill also includes high-density plastic
reinforcing placed on top of the clay. This engineering design ensures there is no space
for liquids to penetrate, preventing pollution of the subterranean water. The gas collecting
the system is the third layer. Gases are created in the same manner as liquids are
produced by natural processes. The garbage is contained in the fourth layer. This is the
biggest and most prominent layer. Garbage collection firms bring in rubbish from diverse
sources regularly and dump it in this stratum. The waste disposed of is compacted
regularly to avoid taking up too much room.

V. Recommendation
We must keep up with the quantity of garbage created by being informed about new
approaches accessible in the sector. Practicing solid waste management should not only
be done at home but also in other places. Sanitary landfills are locations where trash is
kept apart from the environment until it can be safely disposed of. When it has fully
deteriorated physiologically, chemically, and physically, it is regarded. The amount of
isolation attained in high-income countries may be considerable. However, it's possible
that such a high level of isolation isn't strictly required to preserve public health.
Therefore, before a site may be considered a sanitary landfill, several requirements must
be satisfied. The methods for doing so should be tailored to the local environment. The
immediate objective is to fulfill the stated fundamental sanitary landfill standards to the
greatest degree feasible, with a longer-term goal of eventually meeting them completely.
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