It wasn’t so long ago–the early 1980s–when large new landfill cells in the United States were constructed without protective liners. In Columbia County, New York, two 30-acre, unlined cells from 1982 have been found to be leaking waste into groundwater. The neighboring, more modern cells, which include geosynthetic liners and leachate collection systems, are still performing well and preventing leakage. Remediation work will be needed along with capping. Some sites in the US and Canada are now reburying old waste in lined cells while sifting through waste for recyclables.

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