How the Perception of Employees Can Help to Address Management …
77
actions, most of the MSW discarded in Brazil is sent to final disposal units, including
sanitary landfills. In fact, out of the 5570 Brazilian municipalities, it is estimated that
2218 of them (39.8% of all municipalities) sent their MSW to sanitary landfills in
2017 (Abrelpe 2018), totaling 42,267,365 tons disposed of in them. It is estimated that
59.1% of the total mass amount of waste collected in the country in 2017 was destined
to sanitary landfills (Abrelpe 2018). Therefore, it can be concluded that Brazil has
a strong dependence on sanitary landfills (Costa et al. 2019), which justifies the
proposition of technologies that can reduce the environmental and social impacts
associated with them.
3 Main Negative Impacts Associated with Sanitary
Landfills
In many countries, as in Brazil, sanitary landfills are currently considered the most
appropriate solution for the disposal of MSW (Renou et al. 2008; Peng 2017). Studies
comparing solid waste management alternatives have shown that landfills have important advantages over other methods (e.g. incineration) such as lower costs and ease
of operation (O’Leary and Tchobanoglous 2002; Renou et al. 2008). In addition,
landfills are considered to be safer when compared to open dumps or controlled
landfills. However, sanitary landfills can cause negative environmental and social
impacts. There is also an aggravating factor in this scenario: even after a landfill is
deactivated, leachate, a wastewater, continues to be generated, requiring long-term
treatment, typically for 30 years or more (O’Leary and Tchobanoglous 2002).
These impacts, such as environmental degradation, have been recognized both by
authorities, who have tightened pollution control criteria, and by the municipalities
and/or the companies that operate landfills and have voluntarily sought to adopt attitudes that make them socially responsible by contributing to a healthier environment
(Renou et al. 2008; Peng 2017). This pressure from stricter environmental laws or
from the voluntary willingness to adopt socially responsible and more sustainable
actions, coupled with the strong dependence on landfills in Brazil, has brought technological challenges and demanded more effective ways of minimizing the negative
impacts associated with these waste disposal units (Renou et al. 2008; Kamaruddin
et al. 2015).
The most important negative impacts that can be caused by the disposal of MSW
in sanitary landfills are related to the release of leachate, the wastewater generated in
landfills, in water bodies (Renou et al. 2008; Peng 2017; Torretta et al. 2017). Leachate
is a highly polluting wastewater, usually characterized by high concentrations of
organic compounds, ammonia and inorganic ions. Leachate also presents a variability
of characteristics over time, such as flow rate, concentration of different substances
and biodegradability, which depends, for example, on the age of the landfill (Renou
et al. 2008; Torretta et al. 2017; Costa et al. 2019). All of these factors can affect
77
actions, most of the MSW discarded in Brazil is sent to final disposal units, including
sanitary landfills. In fact, out of the 5570 Brazilian municipalities, it is estimated that
2218 of them (39.8% of all municipalities) sent their MSW to sanitary landfills in
2017 (Abrelpe 2018), totaling 42,267,365 tons disposed of in them. It is estimated that
59.1% of the total mass amount of waste collected in the country in 2017 was destined
to sanitary landfills (Abrelpe 2018). Therefore, it can be concluded that Brazil has
a strong dependence on sanitary landfills (Costa et al. 2019), which justifies the
proposition of technologies that can reduce the environmental and social impacts
associated with them.
3 Main Negative Impacts Associated with Sanitary
Landfills
In many countries, as in Brazil, sanitary landfills are currently considered the most
appropriate solution for the disposal of MSW (Renou et al. 2008; Peng 2017). Studies
comparing solid waste management alternatives have shown that landfills have important advantages over other methods (e.g. incineration) such as lower costs and ease
of operation (O’Leary and Tchobanoglous 2002; Renou et al. 2008). In addition,
landfills are considered to be safer when compared to open dumps or controlled
landfills. However, sanitary landfills can cause negative environmental and social
impacts. There is also an aggravating factor in this scenario: even after a landfill is
deactivated, leachate, a wastewater, continues to be generated, requiring long-term
treatment, typically for 30 years or more (O’Leary and Tchobanoglous 2002).
These impacts, such as environmental degradation, have been recognized both by
authorities, who have tightened pollution control criteria, and by the municipalities
and/or the companies that operate landfills and have voluntarily sought to adopt attitudes that make them socially responsible by contributing to a healthier environment
(Renou et al. 2008; Peng 2017). This pressure from stricter environmental laws or
from the voluntary willingness to adopt socially responsible and more sustainable
actions, coupled with the strong dependence on landfills in Brazil, has brought technological challenges and demanded more effective ways of minimizing the negative
impacts associated with these waste disposal units (Renou et al. 2008; Kamaruddin
et al. 2015).
The most important negative impacts that can be caused by the disposal of MSW
in sanitary landfills are related to the release of leachate, the wastewater generated in
landfills, in water bodies (Renou et al. 2008; Peng 2017; Torretta et al. 2017). Leachate
is a highly polluting wastewater, usually characterized by high concentrations of
organic compounds, ammonia and inorganic ions. Leachate also presents a variability
of characteristics over time, such as flow rate, concentration of different substances
and biodegradability, which depends, for example, on the age of the landfill (Renou
et al. 2008; Torretta et al. 2017; Costa et al. 2019). All of these factors can affect