Environmental geotechnics: Brazilian experience and some hot topics

Abstract

This paper, in commemoration of 75 years of the Brazilian Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, highlights contributions of Brazilian Geotechnicians to some selected topics of Environmental Geotechnics, i.e., design of municipal solid waste landfills, tropical soils and alternative clay liners, and remediation, and also brings forward the production of new geomaterials by means of an example of an engineered clay developed in Belgium with enhanced performance in barriers systems. The overall Brazilian expertise in geoenvironmental research, practice and design extends to many other geoenvironmental topics that were not presented and deserve another publication. Nonetheless, based on the given examples, the paper shows the essential role of Geotechnics in the well-being of the populations and in the fight against deterioration of the planet, and that challenges are continuously in progress for environmental Geotechnicians.