Final Covers for Solid Waste Landfills and Abandoned Dumps

The number of worldwide solid waste landfills and abandoned dumps is growing steadily in both industrialized and developing nations. The key to successful waste containment is often a final cover for placement over the landfill or dump. This book presents the essential elements for the design of final covers which are environmentally safe and secure. With an overview of regulations in the United States and Germany provided, the authors emphasize performance-based design for site specific conditions. Individual components of candidate cover systems are examined, including surface, protection, drainage, barrier, gas collection, and foundation layers for the entire range of natural soil materials and geosynthetics.