ClosureTurf®; landfill cover without the headache

When covering landfills, erosion of embankments is often a concern. Slopes affected by rain and wind require frequent maintenance. Traditional seals with a meter-thick covering layer of soil and natural vegetation are time-consuming in construction and significant in maintenance costs. Applying that soil layer is not only time intensive, it also takes up land that can often be put to better use elsewhere. Construction of a traditional cover involves a lot of CO² (carbon dioxide) emissions simply because of the high number of transport movements required to construct the cover. In addition, stability problems can arise during embankment construction due to overburden and uneven settlement in the underlying layers. ClosureTurf^® provides a geotechnically designed and proven alternative with proven performance over a long predictable period of time.

The quality of a traditional cover depends in part on the vegetative overgrowth of the topsoil and thus on weather conditions. ClosureTurf^® is designed to meet the long-term requirements of a landfill under all weather conditions. Developed and introduced in the United States, the system finds wide application there and is preferred by many landfill operators, engineering firms, governments and prescriptive agencies. That preference is based in part on the proven stability improvement, long-term protection and low maintenance required compared to a traditional seal.

Protection against erosion; never so simple

ClosureTurf^® is a patented system from the American company WatershedGeo^® which consists of three components: a textured geomembrane, an artificial turf designed for landfills, and a specified backfill material. The system provides predictability compared to conventionally capped landfills by:

• reducing the cost of construction and long-term maintenance
• better performance than would be expected based on technical standards
• resistance to extreme weather
• a long technical lifetime
• easy connection to existing landfill gas collection systems
• elimination of the need to post-treat stormwater runoff

With more than a thousand acres of installed area, ClosureTurf has^® proven itself over traditional capping methods. By always meeting or exceeding applicable standards, the capping method with ClosureTurf is^® has become the preferred method of covering landfills for many operators and prescribing agencies.

Predictable geotechnical behavior

Technical functionality

• Protects against common erosion, drainage and silt problems
• Extremely stable on steep slopes; no re-profiling required due to high shear resistance of the applied geomembrane (liquid-tight liner)
• With an expected lifespan of 100+ years, the ClosureTurf^®-system well beyond the prescribed replacement deadline for landfill covers
• Protects against top load, severe weather and wind loads

Cost Savings

• Up to 90% reduced maintenance costs compared to traditional covers
• Reduced realization costs due, among other things, to the omission of a capping soil layer
• No treatment or purification of discharge water required
• Provides more than 60 inches of additional space by omitting the capping soil layer (potential added value)

Construction Benefits

• Two to three times faster to install than traditional covers
• Per acre average of 1,200 fewer truck trips on local roads needed for soil transportation
• Landfill can be capped in phases
• Suitable for the installation of solar panels

Environmental benefits

• Clean drain water
• No chemicals, fertilizers or soil particles contaminating runoff water from the cover
• Landfill gas under control
• Reduced surface emissions from landfill gas
• Lower leachate production with phased capping
• No irrigation, fertilization, seeding or mowing required  
• Up to 80% lower carbon footprint on realization
• No seizure of clean soil for cover required

Genap, your partner for the construction of ClosureTurf^®

Genap works closely in partnership with Watershed Geo^® for the installation of ClosureTurf^® in the Netherlands. For more than 70 years, the company has specialized in the processing and installation of plastic films, including in various sectors of ground, road and hydraulic engineering such as in sunken road layouts, water treatment plants and landfills. For the application of foil constructions in infra-structural works such as, for example, the covering of landfill sites, an authorized and certified company is required to carry out the work in accordance with the guidelines. Genap has been Kiwa certified in accordance with the BRL-K537 and VCA* since 1997 so that the quality of processing and construction are optimally and sustainably guaranteed, with a clear eye for safe and responsible working.