Site Selection Criteria and Design for Landfills in an Arid Area with Shallow Groundwater Depth

In order to protect the human health as well as the environment from the solid waste negative impacts, landfill sites should be subjected to adopt the criteria that correspond to landfills international requirements. Fifteen criteria were approved of in an arid area like Babylon Governorate, Iraq for landfill siting. As a result, ten landfill sites were chosen in the governorate. A suitable design was suggested for the selected landfill sites. This design consisted of the base liner system and the final cover system. The results for the suggested landfill design (using the HELP model) showed that there was no leachate percolation from waste mass into groundwater.