Knowra Landfill Landfill A landfill is an engineered site where waste is placed and managed for long-term containment. Its design limits contact between waste, water, and the surrounding environment.
Landfill liner : A low-permeability barrier beneath or around landfill waste that restricts leachate migration. The liner is the primary engineered barrier between buried waste and underlying soil or groundwater.
Municipal solid waste : Everyday solid waste collected from households, businesses, and institutions. It is the main waste stream accepted by many municipal landfills.
Landfill diversion : The reduction of waste sent to landfills through prevention, reuse, recycling, or recovery. Diversion policies determine how much residual material a landfill must accept.
Methane emissions : The release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere from natural or human sources. Decomposing organic waste can produce methane that escapes gas collection systems.
Landfill aftercare : The monitoring and maintenance of a landfill after waste placement and closure. Aftercare must continue while leachate, gas, or structural risks persist.
Leachate : Liquid that has passed through waste and carries dissolved or suspended substances. Landfills collect and treat this contaminated liquid to limit groundwater pollution.
Waste hierarchy : A framework that ranks waste prevention and reuse above recycling, recovery, and disposal. Landfilling occupies the disposal end of a hierarchy that favors avoiding waste first.
Waste-to-energy : The conversion of non-recycled waste into usable heat, electricity, or fuel. It competes with landfilling for some combustible residual waste.
Groundwater contamination : The degradation of groundwater quality by chemicals, pathogens, or other pollutants. Leachate migration can contaminate aquifers if containment or monitoring fails.
Bioreactor landfill : A landfill that adds liquid or air to accelerate waste decomposition and gas production. Faster stabilization may shorten some impacts but changes gas and leachate management needs.
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