Management of solid waste in khartoum state

Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, has a serious problem with solid waste management and treatment because of the huge amount of generated wastes. Thousands of tons are generated daily, generally, uncollected wastes accumulate at roadsides and burned by residents, most of it ends up in open dumps and wetlands, contaminating surface and ground water, posing major health hazards. Land filling has started in Sudan since 2008 but not properly engineered, most amount of the region’s waste is disposed in open dumps or semi-controlled unlined landfills with no gas collection system, groundwater protection, leachate recovery, or treatment systems. 5,100 tons are generated daily in Khartoum state;almost 70% (3,570 tons/day) must dispose to landfill after separation of 30% of recyclable materials (plastic, metals, glass, etc.). Approximately, 180,000 m3/month of MSW generated from three parts of Khartoum state, Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman. It needs to be dumped on three proper designed landfills. On the basis of “monthly” Cells for the purpose of easy design and management problems if occurred in any Cell (e.g. containment of fire or isolation problems), cells will have 60,000 m3 capacity with 1800m2 surface area. The waste depth is 10 meters to achieve sufficient depth for feasible gas production and extraction. Site excavation can be up to 4 meters below existing ground level. The total landfill area for period of a year equal 97,200 m2, and cells must have isolated by HDPE (high density poly ethylene) to prevent ground water from leachate. This paper describes the recent situation of MSW in Khartoum state and proposed a proper design of landfill to receive waste and the generated gases.