Closure of a Paper Mill Sludge Landfill, 1994 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Kwasi Badu-Tweneboah, Daniel W. Haubeil, Neil D. Williams

This paper describes the design, permitting, and construction of an innovative cover system for the closure of a paper mill sludge landfill. The landfill contained very soft, compressible sludges that were byproducts of the pulp and paper manufacturing process. Lightweight geosynthetic products were used in lieu of conventional earthen construction materials as components of the cover system to facilitate closure of the facility. Stabilization of the upper 3 to 6 m layer of sludge with bark provided support for construction equipment.

Construction further required the use of low ground pressure equipment to place cover soils and eliminate haul roads on the installed sections of the cover system. Adequate stabilization of the in-place sludge and installation of gas control vents were also necessary to minimize the occurrence of bulges and localized bearing capacity failures during construction. The facility has been closed for over a year and data obtained from the monitoring system indicate that the cover system is functioning as designed.