Digital Commons Network^™

Phytocapping: An Alternative Technology For The Sustainable Management Of Landfill Sites, Dane Lamb, Kartik Venkatraman, Nanthi Bolan, Nanjappa Ashwath, Girish Choppala, Ravi Naidu

Dr Girish Choppala

Landfill remains the predominant means of waste disposal throughout the globe. Numerous landfills exist in developed and underdeveloped countries, engineered with contrasting degrees of effectiveness. Modern landfill closure in developed countries involves the conventional capping of waste with materials such as compacted clay or geosynthetic clay liners, typically overlain with other soil materials. Conventional capping technologies are now accepted to be increasingly ineffective in reducing percolation into waste. Cost-effective alternative systems are of increasing interest, including the use of plants to control and limit water entry into waste, otherwise known as “Phytocapping”. Phytocapping reduces percolation through three main mechanisms: (a) …