Geosynthetics July/August 2024 - 17

Navigating landfill
leachate requirements
with geosynthetics
By Yuse Lajiminmuhip, Anthony Johnson, Bill Urchik and Georgia Covarrubias
H
ow vital is landfill leachate management? Recent guidance from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the disposal of PFAS shows
that leachate management is one of the core functionalities of a modern landfill-and
perhaps one of its biggest selling points moving forward.
Leachate, a byproduct of solid decomposition and precipitation percolation
through waste, can contain hazardous substances, including salts, heavy
metals and organic matter (Li et al. 2023). The EPA estimates the volume of
leachate generated annually in the United States to be 61.1 million m3 (EPA
2022). Despite the alarming volume, only 6% of United States landfills can
manage on-site leachate, with the majority relying on wastewater treatment
plants (William 2019; Staley and Bolyard 2018).
However, changing regulatory conditions and other considerations could
swing the pendulum in favor of developing more on-site solutions. Regardless,
geosynthetics are essential to any municipal waste landfill and can be designed
to support simple to robust leachate management systems. This article provides
the latest summary on tackling landfill leachate with geosynthetics.
Geosynthetics and designs for landfill
leachate management
Landfill leachate represents a unique waste management challenge, creating a
complex composition that often surpasses conventional wastewater (Figure 2).
Table 1 summarizes considerations when managing landfill leachate. Despite
some of these challenges, leachate offers opportunities for resource recovery,
such as the extraction of ammonia, phosphorus and humic acids, which can
provide environmental and economic benefits (Golwala et al. 2022; Benson et
al. 2017; Iskander et al. 2016).
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
CLARKSBURG LANDFILL
LOCATION
Clarksburg, W. Va.
ENGINEERING CONSULTANT AND
ENVIRONMENTAL PERMITTING
MSES Consultants
WV Landfill Closure Assistance
Program (LCAP)
GEOSYNTHETIC LINER
AGRU 50-mil HDPE Super Gripnet
GEOCOMPOSITE
AGRU 6/200/6
GEOTEXTILE
AGRUTEX 061
MANUFACTURER
AGRU
Yuse Lajiminmuhip is the marketing
business unit manager at AGRU America,
Inc. and also serves as a co-chair for the IGS
Sustainability Committee.
Anthony Johnson is the technical business
unit manager at AGRU America, Inc.
and is active within GRI, IGS, and ASTM,
contributing to the industry's development of
geosynthetics and HDPE pipes.
Bill Urchik is an applications engineer at AGRU
America, Inc., specializing in geosynthetics.
He has a civil engineering degree in structural
and geotechnical engineering from The
University of Western Ontario.
Georgia Covarrubias is a marketing assistant
at AGRU America, Inc. and is attending the
College of Charleston for a B.S. in marketing.
GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
17
http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
Geosynthetics July/August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Geosynthetics July/August 2024
