Treatment and valorization of leachates from controlled landfills by composting the fermentable fraction of household and assimilated waste

Abstract

Leachate generated by urban waste is one of the significant constraints of landfill management. Because of their pollutant load, it poses a threat to the environment and human health. It is, therefore, imperative to contribute to its elimination. This work consists in proposing a reliable and feasible solution based on an integrated research and development approach that respects the concept of 3R (reduction, recycling and reuse). The solution is to use leachate instead of water in the composting process of the organic fraction of household waste. A platform was built on the site of the Mohammedia landfill, located near the city of Rabat, the Moroccan capital, to conduct an experimental study on 30 tons of household and similar waste (HAW). The sorting operation allowed to separate the fermentable fraction of 58.26%. Leachate stored on-site was used for composting. The results found that the composting process caused the consumption of about 8.1 m3 of leachate and the production of 5.85 tons of compost at 9% moisture.