Phytoremediation of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills

Abstract

Waste disposal is one of the main environmental problems facing society today. Environmental impacts of solid waste landfilling include loss of land area, contamination of soil, leaching of hazardous substances to groundwater, as well as emissions of methane to the atmosphere. The world generates over 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) each year, with at least 33% of that not managed in an environmentally safe manner. In many developed countries, municipal solid wastes (MSW) are dumped in sanitary landfills, while in many developing countries, they are dumped in an inappropriate way which poses a serious threat to the environment. The deficiency of land and the requirement for reuse of the landfill sites demand their rehabilitation. In recent years, phytoremediation has been used as an efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective technology in the remediation and rehabilitation of contaminated sites, including municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills.