The use of reed beds for treatment of landfill leachates

Abstract

Safe treatment and disposal of leachates is an important issue at many older landfill sites, where the ingress of rainfall or groundwater is a significant issue needing consideration. Such leachate may typically be relatively weak, but flows are often characterised by large seasonal variations in both volume and strength, in response to winter rainfall. This paper presents long-term data from several long-term, full-scale studies, where reed beds have been used successfully, to provide pre-treatment, polishing treatment, and full treatment of landfill leachates, and to achieve required standards for discharge into public sewers, or into surface watercourses.