Abstract
Ideally, landfill aftercare should be terminated as soon as possible to minimize long-term environmental impact and maintenance costs. The carbon balance in a landfill can be used to estimate the degree of stabilization and aftercare period. In this study, carbon balance was estimated at an industrial solid waste landfill with five sites with ages varying from 2 to 20 years. The carbon content in dumped waste was estimated based on previously published data on organic content and carbon content. Leachate quantity data were missing for the first ten years and were therefore estimated using a macro-moisture balance model including the effect of snow melt. Because leachate quantity and quality at each site were only measured after leachates were mixed, the quality at each site was calculated by assuming infiltration rates with and without final cover. Results indicated that less than 2% of total input carbon was released from each site via leachate regardless of landfill age. It was not possible to estimate carbon released via gas due to lack of gas measurement.
