Find ways to maximize the rate of degradation of landfill material is important because of difficulties encountered in finding locations to build new landfills, as well as the cost associated with closing landfills. Operating a bioreactor landfill can have numerous benefits, which include faster waste degradation rates, decreased strength of leachate, and more effective capture of landfill gases. Rational operational designs that maximize the bioreactor's effectiveness are essential.
Burlington County operates an active landfill as a bioreactor and a rational operational design to maximize the effectiveness of this bioreactor would be desirable. Then Burlington County Resource Recovery Center (BCRRC) and the Rutgers EcoComplex commissioned a study to analyze operational data collected from the bioreactor and identify data that is missing. Information from this study was used to design an operational plan for the bioreactor landfill