ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the reader with a background in the fundamental elements involved in the design of a modern sanitary landfill. It presents an overview of the fundamental features of modern sanitary landfills with a review of the containment and control technologies common to all landfills. The design and operation of a modern landfill involves many science and engineering disciplines, including the biology and chemistry of waste decomposition and leachate production, the hydraulic, geotechnical, and materials engineering required for the design of liners, pipes, and pumps. The necessity to control leachate and landfill gas has resulted in the greatest changes to modern sanitary landfill design and operation. The elements discussed regarding landfill containment and leachate generation, collection, and storage, are common to all modern landfill designs. The dominant organic class in leachate shifts as the age of the landfill increases due to the ongoing microbial and physical/chemical processes within the landfill.
