Emissions of trace compounds from selected municipal landfills in Poland

Environmental impacts associated to different waste treatments (also landfilling) are of interest in the decision-making process at local, regional and international level. However, all the environmental burdens of inorganic waste biological treatment are not always considered. Real data on gaseous emissions released from full-scale landfills, composting plants and so one are difficult to obtain. These emissions are related to the composting technology and waste characteristics and therefore, an exhaustive sampling campaigns necessary to obtain representative and reliable data of a single plant. In this article Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) were determined in landfill gas from four landfill sites. It was shown that the composition and concentration profiles of VOC were different in each landfill. These differences were connected with age of characterized landfills, composition of landfilled material and weather conditions. In between of VOC three major group compounds were detected chlorinated compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons and organometalloid compounds.