Flexible membrane liners: C. R. Field & S. D. Stone, Civil Engineering — ASCE, 65(4), 1995, pp 60–61

Abstract

Unless there is a long-range plan for the postclosure use of a landfill--such as turning it into a golf course or a park--final grades are usually designed to be as high and as steep as possible to provide the most usable space for refuse. Engineers designing such landfill closure systems must maximize space and meet federal, state, and local regulations as they ensure that the structure will be stable. In the past, compacted clay was used as a barrier layer in landfill caps. Some engineers concerned about slope stability still prefer to sue clay instead of flexible membrane liners. However, because Subtitle D regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act require new landfills to have caps that are no more permeable than the bottom liner, only landfills built before promulgation of Subtitle D can be capped with clay. For those landfills, if clay is locally available, a clay cap may be the most economical alternative. Yet a new generation of flexible membrane liners offers engineers new ways to fight instability on landfill slopes.