CHAPTER THREE
REFUSE DISPOSAL METHODS
Introduction
• The refuse sanitation program cannot be satisfactorily
complete until necessary measures have been taken to
enable the inoffensive disposal of these wastes.
• Disposal methods have been developed wherein the final
disposal of refuse can be accomplished without the
creation of undue nuisance.
• The following points should be considered when
evaluating the alternatives:
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Introduction (Cont’d)
– The quantity and character of the refuse and likely
changes
– Land available for final disposal
– Constraints on the temporary and ultimate use of
possible tipping sites
– The health of the public and refuse workers
– The need for land reclamation
– Possibility of re-use of refuse
– Potential use of power or heat generated by incineration
– Pollution of water sources
– The cost of possible methods
– Technical feasibility and flexibility
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Introduction (Cont’d)
• The available methods of refuse disposal are:-
– Open dumping
– Composting
– Garbage grinding
– Incineration
– Sanitary landfill
– Ocean dumping
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Open Dumping
• In open dumping method, refuse is spread over a wide area.
• Some components of refuse such as street sweepings, ashes
and incombustible rubbish are suitable for open dumping.
• If garbage of mixed refuse is disposed in this manner, the area
will become unhygienic and odorous.
• The dumping area will be characterized by dust, wind-borne
paper, fires and smoke, flies, rats and mosquitoes that will
breed in rainwater held in cans.
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Open Dumping (Cont’d)
• The Usability/Applicability of OD
• Open dumping is favourable where land
reclamation is desired.
• Low areas, which may be brought up to grade by
filling, are generally chosen for the dump.
• Ashes and street sweepings though dusty permit
the construction of a fairly stable fill.
• The land reclamation program by open dumping
must consider the following points.
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Open Dumping (Cont’d)
– Carefully selected rubbish must be used
– The dump locations must be carefully chosen so that
there will be a minimum chance of complaint from
nearby residents.
– The direction of prevailing wind and access by road and
rail
– The hydrogeology of sites should be examined to check
the likelihood of pollution of water supplies and
– Large number of birds are always attracted to refuse
tips, so areas near airports are to be avoided because of
the danger of bird-strike.
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Composting
• Composting converts the fermentable organic
content of refuse to a soil conditioner.
• This method is considered as one of the waste
recovery process.
• Composted refuse is considered an excellent
organic additive for agricultural soils.
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Composting (Cont’d)
• An attempt to use composted material has been made in several
countries but the research has shown that composted material is of
little value apart from getting rid of refuse.
• If refuse includes industrial wastes there is a danger of excess
metals.
• The compost products are considered suitable in tropical land with
high intensity rainfall and rapid run-off which result in the erosion
of humus. This is because:-
-Compost has a good moisture retaining capacity and is not easily
washes away as chemical fertilizers.
-It also helps to improve soil structure and to control soil erosion.
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The Compost Process.
The operations fundamental to the composting of municipal refuse
may be listed as follows:
• Removal of non-compostable: These include removal of cans and
other metals and glass.
• Grinding or shredding: Raw refuse is shredded prior to
placement in piles, digesters, or bins for decomposition.
Shredding generally speeds up bacterial action.
• Proportioning of Materials: The optimum carbon-nitrogen ratio
in the refuse for speedy bacterial action is 30-35:1
• Placement for composting: The placement depends on the type of
composting used.
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Aerobic and Anaerobic Composting
• Decomposition of wastes may be aerobic or anaerobic.
• In anaerobic digestion, predominant organisms which stabilize the
wastes are anaerobic bacteria.
• The main characteristics of this process are:
– The process is a lengthy one extending over a period of 4 to 12 months.
– It is a low temperature process and the destruction of pathogens is
accomplished by their exposure to unfavourable environment over a long
period.
– The gaseous products of reduction are methane, hydrogen sulphide and other
gases with offensive odours.
The main advantage of anaerobic composting is that it requires
minimum attention.
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Aerobic and Anaerobic Composting(Cont’d)
• In aerobic composting, the wastes are stabilized by aerobic organism
while aerobic conditions are maintained throughout the process.
• Aerobic composting is characterized by:
– Rapid decomposition, normally completed within two to four weeks.
– Pathogens, weeds, seeds and insect eggs are killed by the high temperatures
attained in the process.
– So long as aerobic conditions are maintained no offensive odours will be
released.
• The main advantage of aerobic composting is that it requires less
space due to the short duration of decomposition
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Types of Composting Systems
• There are basically two types of composting
namely:
-Open windrow system and
-Mechanical system
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Open Windrow System
• In this system, open piles or windrows are placed on the
ground, on a paved area, or in shallow pits of about 1.5 to
2m high and 2 to 2.5m wide.
• Aerobic conditions are maintained by frequently turning
the refuse to ensure uniform composting and aeration.
• The windrow or piles are turned at such intervals that
aerobic conditions are maintained.
• It may be every 2 to 3 days if the moisture content is high
or a total of 3 or 4 times in a 15 to 21days composting
period.
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Open Windrow System (Cont’d)
• The moisture content of refuse should be about 60%.
Excessive moisture from rainfall is prevented by covering
the piles.
• If the pile is too dry, the moisture may be added by a
percolator or sprinkler in case of extreme conditions of
dryness.
• After several days of composting, the heat will build up
naturally in the pile from microbial reactions. The
temperature may go as high as 70° C.
• Excessively high temperatures, over 70° will be injurious
to bacterial action thereby slowing down degradation.
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Open Windrow System (Cont’d)
• Optimum temperature for windrow composting is from 50
to 70° C with about 60° C usually the most satisfactory.
• Temperature may be controlled by turning but this has a
little effect upon temperature.
• Excessive temperature can best be controlled by lowering
the windrow height.
• Open windrow system needs about 6 to 10 weeks for
completion although in dry weather it may need only 2 to
3 weeks.
• Figure 3.1 shows a layout plan for a manually operated
window compost plant.
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Fig 3.1:
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Manually Operated Windrow Layout 16
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Mechanical Systems
• The mechanical devices operate on the same principles as the windrow
system. The main differences are that within 10 days stable compost is
produced.
• In a plant using mechanical system, the refuse is received on a
conveyor and transported to a building where salvable materials such
as white glass, rags, non-ferrous metal, cardboard and papers are
removed. Ferrous metals are also removed by a magnetic separator.
• The remaining compostable refuse is then ground and conveyed to a
digester for a varying period during which moisture, temperature and
aeration are closely controlled.
• The material is then screened to remove large undigested items. Then
the compost is left as a unit for 2 to 3 days. During this period, heat
increases to 60 – 70° C to destroy pathogens and seeds.
• The mass is then removed to the maturing sheds for further aerobic
action until the digestion is complete.
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Factors Affecting the Rate of Composting:
Table 3.1 show the factors affecting the rate of composting.
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Table 3.1: Factors Affecting the Rate of Composting)
Factor Comments
Particle size and structural strength of feedstock Particle size should be small enough to give adequate surface area for microbial attack, but not
so small little void space remains between particles. Materials which lose their structural
strength when wet should not be composted alone as the lack of void space would
impede air movement. Optimum size is 1 to 4 cm for mechanical plants with forced
aeration, or 4 to 8cm for windows and natural aeration.
Availability of nutrients Nitrogen is the major nutrient required by micro-organisms. An optimum ratio of carbon to
nitrogen (C/N) is about 30:1. Municipal waste has a C/N about 60:1, so that nutrients
need to be added, usually in the form of sewage sludge.
Moisture Content Water is required by micro-organisms, a minimum level of 30% being necessary. The optimum
level is the maximum achievable without filling the pore spaces with water and thus
impeding air movement, and is usually about 50 – 60%. The optimum moisture content is
between 40 and 60%. Where there is more than 60% water, the anaerobic bacteria are
stimulated and unpleasant smells evolve.
Aeration and agitation Adequate aeration is necessary for the composting process. An optimum air flow of 2 to
6m3/day/kg of volatile solids is required during the thermophilic stage. Regular agitation
aids aeration and exposes fresh material to attack, but too much agitation leads to
excessive heat loss and compression of the heap.
pH Control pH changes from acid to alkaline during composting. However, deliberate pH control usually
has little effect on the process.
Heap size A minimum heap size is necessary, particularly in windrowing, to provide thermal insulation.
The maximum size is determined by the prevention of overheating. Optimum size for
windrows is about 1.5m high and 2.5m wide.
Temperature Temperature should not rise above 70° C. If it does, degradation is slowed down. A lower
temperature is required for a high paper content. Temperature may be lowered by turning
the wastes over.
Wind Wind lowers the temperature and reduces the moisture on the windward side of composting
heaps. It may be necessary to add water to maintain a satisfactory moisture content.
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Garbage Grinding
• Grinding is shredding the waste into a homogeneous
mixture.
• Grinding is usually used for wastes intended to be
discharged with sewage.
• Garbage must be separated from other refuse by
householder prior to collection.
• Garbage is then transported to grinding stations for
grinding.
• The ground garbage is introduced directly to the sewer
system, or if the grinder is located at the sewage treatment
plant, ground materials are sometimes sent to digesters,
with other phases of treatment being by-passed.
• The solids are ground to 6mm or smaller.
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Garbage Grinding (cont’d)
• The discharge of ground garbage into sewer
system may lead to increase of cockroaches and
rats in some trunk sewers but this is not expected
to cause any serious problems.
• If garbage of the population contributing sewage is
ground at a central grinding plant and then
discharged into the sewers, the suspended solids
may increase by up to 50% whereas BOD may
increase by up to 30%.
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Incineration
This method has been widely used in developed countries.
• The important advantages are:
– Less land is required than for landfills and open dumping.
– A central location is possible. A well-designed building, carefully operated,
preferably located in industrial areas may be acceptable. This may allow
short hauls for the collection service.
– Ash and other residual produced are practically free of organic matter,
nuisance-free, and acceptable as fill material.
– Many kinds of refuse can be burned. Even the non-combustible materials
will be reduced in bulk.
– Climate does not affect the operation of incinerators
– Flexibility in operation is possible. For instance, incinerators may be
operated for 8, 6 or 24 hr/day.
– It is possible to get some income through the sale of waste heat for steam or
power.
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Incineration (cont’d)
The disadvantages which should be considered include:
• The high capital cost of incinerators.
• The operating costs are relatively high, and skilled personnel are
required for operation and maintenance. The high temperatures, dust
and type of materials handled have such an effect upon machinery
and furnace interior that expensive repairs are frequently needed.
Costs are widely varying and will depend in large part on whether
operation is one, two or three shifts, decreasing with the number of
shifts and amount of automation.
• Air pollution due to dust and smoke.
• Incinerators usually require wastes which are combustible.
Normally solid wastes from domestic refuse in developing countries
has a very high moisture content and would therefore require a lot of
energy for combustion.
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Principal features of an incinerator
• There are various types of incinerators which are usually
classified by charging method and types of grates used.
• The principal features of an incinerator are:-
-Charging apparatus
The simplest method of charging is to damp the
collected refuse on the charging floor and later on
pushing it into charging doors by hand or bulldozer.
This method has a disadvantage of small storage
capacity and varying loads on the incinerator.
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The principal features of an incinerator (cont’d)
The furnace
This chamber includes the grates on which the material is deposited for burning.
The Combustion Chamber
• This is located between the furnace and chimney, and its purpose is to permit
mixing of hot gases and allow time for combustion to take place.
The Chimney
• The chimney or stack serves to discharge the gases into the atmosphere and is also
a means for providing air movement or “stack draft” through the incinerator
system.
Miscellaneous Features
– Provision must be made for temporary storage and removal of ashes.
– Control apparatus such as thermometers, scales etc.
– Water spray system or other quenching device.
– Air supply system.
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Fig. 3.2: Typical layout of incinerator assembly.
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Sanitary Landfill
• Sanitary landfill differs from ordinary dumping in that the material
is
– placed in a trench or other prepared area,
– adequately compacted, and
– covered with earth at the end of the working day.
• A sanitary landfill is regarded as a suitable method of disposing off
refuse to land without creating a nuisance or public health hazard by
utilizing engineering principles.
– Prospective landfill sites should be evaluated with respect to
– the type of soil available,
– drainage,
– prevailing winds,
– availability of access roads and haul distance involved.
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– Possible contamination of ground and surface water should also be considered
in choosing a site.
– Sandy loam is considered the most suitable landfill soil, although other solids
can be utilized.
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Operational Techniques /Methods of Sanitary Landfills
• Methods of landfill operation are largely determined by;
– the information obtained during the preliminary evaluation of
perspective sites.
– Also, the population to be served and
– the type of equipment available will influence the choice of the
methods.
• Two main classification of operational methods have
been developed;
– the trench method and
– area method.
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The trench method (use of human efforts - excavation)
– Trench method is usually chosen where the level terrain is
• available,
• soils are deep and
• ground water table is deep.
– The trench may be completely excavated prior to beginning the
operation, or it may be excavated progressively as the work
proceeds.
– The trench should be self-draining.
– The fill begins at one end of the trench and develops
progressively along its length.
– Trenches are usually 1.8 to 3m deep and, depending on local
conditions, 3.5 to 10m in width.
– Fig 3.3 shows the trench method of constructing a sanitary
landfill.
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Fig 3.3: Trench method of constructing a sanitary landfill
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The area method
• The area method (Fig 3.4) is used when the terrain is unsuitable for
excavation due to shallow groundwater or bedrock.
• Area methods may suitably be used to fill deep depression to grade.
• The area method has a disadvantage of requiring supplemental
earth from outside sources.
• The wastes are unloaded and spread in long, narrow strips on the
land surface in a series of layers varying from 0.4 to 0.75 m in
depth.
• Each layer is compacted as the filling progresses during the day
until the thickness of the compacted wastes reaches a height of 1.8
to 3m.
• At the end of each day’s operation, a 15 to 30cm layer of earth
material is placed over the completed fill.
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Fig 3.4: Area method of sanitary Landfill
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Space Requirements for a Landfill
The volume required for a landfill may be estimated by the
following equation.
F R P
V = (1− )
D 100
V = landfill volume in cubic meters required for refuse disposal per capital per year.
F = a factor incorporating the cover material, averaging 17% for deep fills and 33%
for shallow fills with corresponding F values of 1.17 and 1.3.3.
R = amount of refuse contributed in kg/cap/year
D = Average density of refuse in kg/m3 delivered at the landfill.
P = Per cent reduction of refuse volume in the landfill, varying from 0 to 70%
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Other design consideration for a landfill
should include:
• Various facilities to be provided,
• How the site will be operated,
• The potential for pollution and its control,
• The planned use of the complete landfill and
• The cost estimates for using the proposed site.
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Landfill Equipments
– Suitable equipment has been developed to perform the complete
landfill operation –
• excavation,
• spreading and compacting refuse, and
• moving earth to serve as cover material.
– Track-type equipment filled with an appropriate bucket, clamshell
or blade can easily accomplish the landfill operation in smaller
cities.
– Larger cities may use power shovels or draglines for the
excavation of trenches, with tractor being freed for the other
operational phases.
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Fig 3.5 shows the landfill equipment. 36
Fig 3.5: Landfill equipment.
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CHAPTER THREE
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Use of filled lands
• The potential use of filled land should receive
careful consideration during the planning stage of
sanitary landfill.
• Sanitary landfills may be used to improve eroded
areas and marshes.
• The filled areas have been used for parks,
recreation areas and sports grounds such as golf
courses, parking lots and small construction.
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Advantages of Sanitary Landfill
• Landfilling by refuse can be very useful form of land reclamation.
Sanitary landfill can be exployed to fill old quarries, gravel pits and
marshes which may later on be used as recreation centers,
construction of small structures, etc.
• As compared to ordinary dump, sanitary fill has the advantage of
minimizing odour and fire nuisances and of eliminating such health
hazards as insect and rodent breeding.
• Over such other disposal methods as incineration, it has the
advantages of cheapness and simplicity, since no separation of
refuse is required.
• Equipment, machinery and manpower at many sanitary fills are
small. The only manpower requirement at many landfills is a
machine operator. Most of landfill machinery can be used for other
municipal activities, although allowance must be made for daily use
of the equipment at the landfill.
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Disadvantages of Sanitary Landfill
• Unless careful and continuous supervision is given,
the fill may deteriorate into an ordinary dump.
• A sanitary fill of any size should preferably be under
the supervision of a sanitary engineer.
• Since land requirements for sanitary landfill
operations are large, bigger cities sometimes
experience difficulty in obtaining suitable sites at
reasonable prices.
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Ocean Dumping
• Ocean dumping of refuse has been practiced in many seaside
cities in the United States, Israel and Japan.
• Refuse is generally loaded onto barges and taken out to a point
in the ocean where wind currents and depth will ensure that
refuse will not return to the land.
• In most cases the “Island” of refuse is created on the sea which
gradually moves towards the land.
• The returning refuse ultimately coats the beaches making them
unsightly and unfit for bathing.
• To prevent return of refuse to the land, refuse may be bailed and
encased in concrete or asphalt before being deposited on the
seabed.
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