Title: Mining of compost from dumpsites and bioreactor landfills

Authors: Kurian Joseph, S. Esakku, R. Nagendran

Addresses: Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, Chennai 600025, India. ' Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, Chennai 600025, India. ' Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, Chennai 600025, India

Abstract: Landfill mining is the process to recover recyclable materials, landfill space and compost. The paper presents the concepts of mining of compost from open stabilised dumpsites and bioreactor landfills to make landfills sustainable. Studies indicate that 50% of the material from the dumpsite could be recovered and reused as compost for non-edible plants or cover material for daily use in the dumpsites. Encouraging microbial degradation of solid waste in landfill bioreactors to enhance the mining process needs to be demonstrated at pilot scale to complement the ongoing researches in Asian context.

Keywords: landfill mining; landfill bioreactors; compost mining; landfill cover; heavy metals; municipal solid waste; dumpsites; sustainable landfills; microbial degradation; solid waste.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2007.015149

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2007 Vol.7 No.3/4, pp.317 - 325

Published online: 18 Sep 2007 *

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