Landfill Closures

The closure [capping] of completed or abandoned solid waste facilities present particular challenges, for example:

★ there usually exists a very uncertain and random subsidence behaviour of the existing waste beneath the closure,

★ the friction behaviour of the various interfaces that are involved in solid waste facilities is not established,

★ there are numerous long term geosynthetic stability and durability issues that must be addressed, and

★ there are an extremely large number of sites that require proper closure.

These topics are addressed in the three sessions Geosynthetics in Landfill Closures, Interface Friction Considerations and Geocomposites Systems and New Materials. Current materials and basic techniques are reviewed and innovations discussed. Owners' perspectives and design considerations raised and specific problems such as liquid intrusion are addressed. The area of landfill closure simply begs innovation and the manufacturing sector is meeting the challenge. This gathering of expert opinions is an important document of the proper use of geosynthetics in landfill closure systems.