| dc.description.abstract | Landfills are the commonest method of final waste disposal for municipal waste in many countries (Kamaruddin et al., 2017). The popularity of landfilling amongst countries, poor, developing and developed alike, can be attributed to its cost effectiveness, low-tech and easy-to-use requirements (M.I. Ab. Malek, 2008). Despite the advantages of landfills, there is a leachate production problem associated with them. Leachate is formed when material and matter from the landfill dissolve and suspend in the precipitation entering the landfill, also in the waste moisture as the liquid percolates through the landfill (Raghab et al., 2013). Leachate production by the landfill poses not only environmental, but also health problems which are a major set-back (Renou et al., 2008). The leachate from landfills is a serious environmental problem due to the danger to the soil, ground and surface water resources (Peng, 2017). The cascading environmental effects of leachate pollution vary from small-scale landscape alterations, to destruction of habitats and eventually loss of biodiversity. In addition, the socio-economic impacts of leachate are exacerbated by the declining public health as a result of contaminated surface or groundwater consumption (Danthurebandara et al., 2012).
In a bid to prevent the negative impacts of landfill leachate on communities, many governments have adopted on-site leachate treatment methods. In recent times, different treatment methods have been proposed and applied to alleviate the hazards associated with untreated leachate (Kamaruddin et al., 2015). Physical, chemical and biological remediation techniques and processes have been employed, including municipal treatment (Wiszniowski et al., 2006). The municipal treatment approach is by far the most common in developing countries. The other commonly used methods of treatment are membrane filtration, osmosis and reverse osmosis procedures, advanced oxidative processes, as well as biological processes (Deng & Zhao, 2015). However, the use of biological processes is limited albeit being effective and relatively cheap because of the toxicity of the leachate which can be life threatening to the life forms that are used for remediation in the biological treatment (Tałałaj et al., 2019). Furthermore, even the other available techniques are advanced, complicated, costly, and require expert labour (Kamaruddin et al., 2017). | en_US |
