Closed sanitary landfill sites have been developed for use as open areas for recreation and industrial and commercial areas with structures. Both conventional and unconventional land development practices for closed sanitary landfills require careful planning before the landfill development begins. The major areas of concerns for developing closed sanitary landfill sites are settlement of the landfill surface after closure, low bearing capacity to support structures, formation and migration of landfill gases, and corrosive environment due to presence of acids in subsurface forming during decomposition of solid waste. Although structural developments on landfills are not recommended, in densely populated areas where property is scarce and land values are high, land uses incorporating structures have been practiced. Successful developments with structural facilities require special design considerations such as leaving undisturbed areas for structural pads during solid waste deposition and using acid resistant concrete. This paper provides an overview of the experiences with development of landfills for both conventional and unconventional land use purposes.
