Improved methodology to assess modification and completion of landfill gas management in the aftercare period

Municipal solid waste landfills represent the dominant option for waste disposal in many parts of the world. While some countries have greatly reduced their reliance on landfills, there remain thousands of landfills that require aftercare. The development of cost-effective strategies for landfill aftercare is in society’s interest to protect human health and the environment and to prevent the emergence of landfills with exhausted aftercare funding. The Evaluation of Post-Closure Care (EPCC) methodology is a performance-based approach in which landfill performance is assessed in four modules including leachate, gas, groundwater, and final cover. In the methodology, the objective is to evaluate landfill performance to determine when aftercare monitoring and maintenance can be reduced or possibly eliminated. This study presents an improved gas module for the methodology. While the original version of the module focused narrowly on regulatory requirements for control of methane migration, the improved gas module also considers best available control technology for landfill gas in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, and emissions of odoriferous compounds. The improved module emphasizes the reduction or elimination of fugitive methane by considering the methane oxidation capacity of the cover system. The module also allows for the installation of biologically active covers or other features designed to enhance methane oxidation. A methane emissions model, CALMIM, was used to assist with an assessment of the methane oxidation capacity of landfill covers.

► Performance-based evaluation of landfill gas control system. ► Analytical framework to evaluate transition from active to passive gas control. ► Focus on cover oxidation as an alternative means of passive gas control. ► Integrates research on long-term landfill behavior with practical guidance.