ABSTRACT
During landfilling operations, rainwater will percolate through the waste mass and become contaminated by the materials it comes into contact with. Typical waste material will include food residue, oils, paint, cloth, paper, newsprint, plastics, corroding food cans and metals, batteries and soluble and leachable industrial waste. The contaminated liquid or leachate will gather at the bottom of the landfill. If the pit is unlined and the natural material at the base is permeable, the leachate will migrate away from the landfill repository. Depending on the geological conditions in the area, the migration of the contaminated fluid may have the potential to pollute rivers, watercourses and groundwater in the area.
