The control of rainwater entry into the municipal solid waste landfill during its construction and after its closure is crucial to keep track of leachate generation. This is a factor that may contribute to the increase of costs on treatment and monitoring and to the mechanical instability of the landfill. For this reason, the final cover system of a municipal solid waste landfill is critical for controling the water entering into the landfill. In most cases, the final cover system is made of compacted soil. Often, suitable soil for landfilling is not found in its surroundings, and resources must be expended in transporting the soil to the landfill site. An alternative would be to use a capillary barrier constructed with mechanical and biologically pretreated waste. However, the use of this material to construct capillary barriers has not been studied and several variables involved in the operation of a capillary barrier constructed with municipal solid mechanical and biologically pretreated waste landfill are unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze the parameters involved in the operation of a capillary barrier built exclusively solid waste pre-treated mechanically and biologically. It was observed that the MSW MBT used as a capillary barrier material may function similarly to that constructed with soil, with a good capacity for rain water retention
municipal solid waste landfill; mechanical biological pre-treatment; environmental geotechnic
