Landfills in ASEAN Countries

Since waste is continually generated from households, offices, markets, industries, and places
where people are present, the need for disposal sites is substantial. Depending on each
country's policies and development systems, waste is treated in various ways, including
landfilling, incineration and open dumpsites. Landfilling is cost-effective and can store waste
long-term but poses environmental risks. Incineration reduces waste volume and generates
energy but has air emissions concerns. Open dumping is inexpensive but highly hazardous
and often illegal. The choice of method depends on factors such as waste type, regulations,
and environmental considerations, with a growing emphasis on sustainable waste
management practices. (1) Among them, landfills will be emphasized in this article.

A landfill refers to the disposal of waste materials on the ground. This practice has been
known by different terms over the years, including 'tips' in the UK, 'sanitary landfill' in the
USA, 'coups' in Scotland, 'controlled tipping' in the UK, and 'dumps' worldwide. (2)

A secure landfill typically has four essential components: a bottom liner, a leachate collection
system, a cover, and naturally occurring hydrogeological conditions. Choosing a suitable
natural setting aims to reduce the risk of waste materials seeping into the groundwater
beneath the landfill. At the same time, the remaining three components require engineering
and design. (3)

Landfills can generally be categorized into three groups: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills,
Industrial Waste Landfills, and Hazardous Waste Landfills. Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
are specifically designed to receive household wastes as well as other types of non-hazardous
wastes. Industrial Waste Landfills are designed to collect commercial and institutional waste
(i.e. industrial waste), which is often a significant portion of solid waste, even in small cities
and suburbs. Hazardous Waste Landfills are facilities used specifically for the disposal of
hazardous waste. (1)

Typical landfill operations involve using machinery, managing waste placement, compaction,
daily covering, road construction, safety, waste monitoring, and stormwater management. (4)

There are numerous landfills within the ASEAN countries as part of the effort to deal with
waste management. The number of landfills can vary significantly based on the geographical
area and the various types and systems of landfills. We can note the number of landfills
operated within the ASEAN countries below from the open source.

Brunei – 6 landfills (5)

Cambodia- 213 landfills (6)
Indonesia- 532 landfills (7)
Malaysia-165 landfills (8)
Myanmar-6 landfills (9)
Philippines- 245 landfills (10)
Singapore- 1 landfill (11)
Thailand-70 landfills (12)
Timor-1 landfill (13)
Vietnam-905 landfills (14)
We want to invite the reader to share with us more info about the operation of landfills within
the ASEAN countries.

By: Moe Thazin Shwe, SOLEN Research Associate – IPC panel member
Edited by: Hendra WINASTU, SOLEN Principal Associate – IPC panel coordinator
Date: 7 September 2023
Article#: SOLEN-IPC-0025

1. www.epa.gov
2. John F Crawford and Paul G Smith, 1985, “Landfill technology” book
3. https://www.ejnet.org/landfills/
4. Nicole D. Berge et al., 2018, Chapter 15.1 - Landfill Operation, Solid Waste Landfilling, Elsevier, Pages
845-866, ISBN 9780128183366,https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407721-8.00040-1.
5. S. Shams, R. H. M. Juani and Z. Guo, 2014, "Integrated and sustainable solid waste management for
Brunei Darussalam," 5th Brunei International Conference on Engineering and Technology (BICET 2014),
Bandar Seri Begawan, , pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1049/cp.2014.1066.
6. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501141817/5000-tonnes-of-daily-waste-not-dumped-in
landfills/#:~:text=There%20are%20213%20landfills%20across,%25%20and%2012%25%20per%20year.
(August 31,2022)
7. https://en.antaranews.com/news/274617/how-indonesia-fighting-waste-crisis#:~:text=Meanwhile%2C
%20the%20number%20of%20landfills,%2Dto%2Denergy%20management%20facilities.
8. https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/malaysia-waste-management-solutions#:~:text=According
%20to%20the%20National%20Solid,is%20done%20to%20reduce%20waste.
9. https://dlca.logcluster.org/37-myanmar-waste-management#:~:text=There%20are%20only%20six
%20existing,township%20and%20Htawe%20Chaung%20township.
10. https://opinion.inquirer.net/164789/running-outof-landfills#ixzz8CVSDD4gZ
11. https://www.towardszerowaste.gov.sg/zero-waste-nation/
12. https://gepp.me/en/thailand-state-of-landfill/
13. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/42661/solid-waste-management-timor-leste.pdf
14. http://www.ngocenter.org.vn/nearly-80-landfill-sites-vietnam-pollute-environment-2020
Image source: https://fabphils.com/proj005-bataan-sanitary-landfill-phase-1