Water, Air, Energy, and Waste Management for Environmental Sustainability Practice Test

Leachate is the liquid that forms when water percolates or drains through waste in a landfill, picking up dissolved and suspended contaminants along the way. This polluted liquid can move through soil and reach groundwater or surface water if the landfill isn’t designed to contain and collect it. That’s why leachate management is essential: landfills use liners to stop seepage and leachate collection systems to gather and treat the liquid before it’s discharged or reused. Leachate is not a gas; landfill gas is mainly methane and carbon dioxide produced by the decomposition of organic waste. By preventing leachate from escaping and treating it properly, we protect soil, groundwater, and water bodies from contamination.