Characteristics and pollution potential of leachate from municipal solid waste landfills: Practical examples from Poland and the Czech Republic and a comprehensive evaluation in a global context

The formation of leachate is mainly due to the percolating of rainwater through the body of the landfill and the physical, chemical, and biological processes taking place inside the body of the landfill. The characteristics and pollution potential of leachate from the municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills in Poland (Lubna) and the Czech Republic (Zdounky) is presented. The objectives of this study are: 1) to evaluate and compare physicochemical characteristics of leachate, 2) to demonstrate the variability of leachate parameters in time, concerning stabi-lization phase of the landfill, 3) to present existing relationships between the characteristics of the leachate, 4) to indicate the factors determining the variability of the leachate composition. The Leachate Pollution Index (LPI) was applied to indicate temporal changes in leachate pollution, to assess polluting ability of leachate, and to compare the pollution potential of leachate. For the Lubna landfill, the minimum, maximum, and average values of LPI were: 6.10, 39.41, and 18.44, respectively. The LPI for the Lubna landfill tends to decrease in time due to stabilization of wastes. For the Zdounky landfill, temporal decreasing of LPI was not observed. The minimum, maximum, and average values of LPI were: 6.25, 14.25, and 10.11, respectively. Alkaline characteristics of leachate from both landfills indicate the mature stage of waste storage. This phenomenon was also evidenced by the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), ammonium (NH4+), and cadmium (Cd). For both landfills, pH was nega-tively correlated with most of the leachate parameters. It is the task for environmental engineers to confront existing knowledge (supplemented by the results of this work) about the properties of leachate, its changes over time and its polluting potential with the possibilities of treating and managing it properly.

Automated summary

The formation of leachate is mainly due to the percolating of rainwater through the landfill and the processes taking place inside the landfill. This study aims to evaluate and compare the physicochemical characteristics of leachate, demonstrate the time variability of leachate parameters during landfill stabilization, present the relationships between leachate characteristics, and indicate the factors determining leachate composition variability. The Leachate Pollution Index (LPI) was used to assess leachate pollution and its potential. The results showed differences in leachate characteristics and pollution potential between the Lubna and Zdounky landfills.