The Assessment of the Ecological State of Leachate from the Largest landfill of Georgia and Its Impact on Climate Change

Over the past decade the municipal solid waste management status in Georgia remained at the stage of mixed waste collection and disposal in landfills having negative impacts on entire ecosystem. It results the formation of large amounts of leachate, methane gas, potential resource depletion and is potential to health hazards. Landfill leads to groundwater contamination, soil & land pollution, harm to animals exposing to harmful materials & foods. Landfills are vulnerable to accidental fires due to the methane produced by decomposing organic waste, financial costs that can be expensive for municipalities or city councils and taxpayers. The aim of this study is to assess the adversee impact of leachate management technology on water resources, as well as on climate change. For utilisation of leachate in this research, the technology of distributing the collected leachate over the surface of the landfill is used. The main objectives include, the study of physical-chemical and microbiological parameters of leachate and the calculation of GHG (methane) emissions from sedimentation systems/tanks/reservoirs of leachate. Physical-chemical and microbiological analysis of leachate water indicates that the concentrations of organic, biogenic and microbiological parameters in research samples exceed limits of discharge by ten times. In this study, for the first time an index of water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions was calculated for leachate of the biggest landfill in Georgia. Leachates belong to class VII according to water pollution index. Emission of methane from leachate for 2024-year estimated as 5% additionally to total methane emissions from the studied landfill.