Solid Waste Landfill Design

A Brief History of Solid Waste Management and Design (Tinjum)

• Introduction and course goals
• Evolving contaminants, risks, and opportunities
• Evolving standards-of-practice and performance based design

Keynote: Financial Management of a Solid Waste System (Welch)

• Solid waste economics
• Evolving revenue streams and value-added processes
• Planning financial outlays and tipping fee impacts
• New technologies for metrics tracking, airspace management and analysis (compaction rates, equipment usage)
• Planning for expansion (vertical and horizontal, greenfield sites

Investigating Hydrogeologic Conditions and Groundwater Monitoring (Leier-Engelhardt)

• Designing an investigation program
• Exploration methods
• Monitoring wells and analysis of groundwater data 

Bower Source Investigation and Composite Liners (Tinjum)

• Properties of suitable liner/cover soil
• Compaction specifications and QA/QC
• Incorporating reasonable soil specifications
• Composite barrier systems and performance calculations
• Class Activity

Geometric Design and Liquid Management Systems (Daigle)

• Base grades
• Slopes and Berming
• Phasing
• Leachate collection systems (drainage sand/stone, drainage geosynthetics, base grades and toe drains)
• Geometrical design
• Leachate head calculations
• Pipe network, clean outs, pumps, and on-site storage

Elevated Temperature Landfill (Benson)

• Chemical and physical indicators
• Management 
• Order Control

Day 2 - Designing from the Bottom Up

Geosynthetic Design for Containment Systems (Benson)

• Polymers 101
• Geosynthetic types and functions
• Contaminant transport mechanisms
• Composite barrier systems and performance calculations

Leachate Treatment (Wade)

• On-site treatment systems
• Considerating for PFAS-impacted streams
• Transport and off-site treatment options

Landfill Drainage and Runoff Control (Powers)

• Runoff amounts
• Open channel flow and culverts
• Sedimentation/detention basins

Slope Stability Approach and Calculations (Tinjum)

• Failure modes, triggering mechanisms, and factors affecting landfill system stability
• Measuring and incorporating interface values
• Calculation approached and examples
• Slope stability analysis and reporting

Management of PFAS in Leachate, Liquids, and Landfill Gasses (Lawson)

• Fate and Transport in Solid Waste Management Residuals
• Liquids Management and Treatment
• Remediation Technologies and Treatment
• Life-Cycle and Economic Assessment

Day 3 Evolving topics in Landfill Gas Operations, Management, and Regulatory Oversite (Tinjum)

• Historical perspectives, Contain-Collect-Control
• Evolving standard-of-practice
• Risks and Opportunities

Gas Collection and Managing Air Emissions (Daigle)

• Sources of landfill air emissions
• Managing landfill gas emissions
• Landfill gas generation, extraction, and collection systems

Developing a Viable Sustainability Campus and Circular Landfill (Wienkes)

• Life-Cycle Systems
• Developing a Sustainability Campus
• Opportunities to Improve the Sustainability of Waste Management

Tour of Dane County Landfill (Welch/Wienkes)

• Sustainability campus
• Gas to energy system tour
• BioCNG system tour
• Interim cover system and gas management
• UAV LFG flight demonstration
• LFG continuous stationary sensor

This course will guide you through the development process of a successful solid waste landfill, from cradle to grave. Industry experts will share critical factors and insights.  Interactive discussion and idea exchange will be emphasized. Learn more and enroll today.

Event Dates/Times:

• 4/13/2026  8:15am - 5:15pm Central Time
• 4/14/2026  8:15am - 5:15pm Central Time
• 4/15/2026  8:00am - 4:15pm Central Time

• Program Director

  James Tinjum

• James Tinjum

  Associate Professor

  James M. Tinjum, PE, PhD, F.ASCE, is an Associate Professor and outgoing Director of the Geological Engineering Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Dr. Tinjum has 35 years of solid waste experience, beginning in 1990. Prior to his engagement as a faculty member at UW–Madison in 2008, he worked for 15 years in industry for prominent engineer-procure-construct firms and a Fortune 50 company. He has specialized technical knowledge in geoenvironmental and remediation engineering for landfills with industrial waste (lime kiln dust, cement kiln dust, foundry residuals, paper mill sludge, coal combustion residuals), municipal solid waste (particularly landfill liner and cover systems and the monitoring, recovery, and value-added use of landfill gases), and hazardous waste. He conducts research in waste geotechnics and waste containment systems; the beneficial reuse of industrial byproducts (e.g., for subgrade improvement and cementitious stabilization of pavement layers); life cycle environmental analysis of geo systems; remediation of contaminated sites; and fate and transport of landfill gas emissions. Dr. Tinjum developed these interests not only through industry practice and applied research, but also through discussions and interactions with practitioners participating in his nationally/internationally attended engineering short course programs. In applied practice, Dr. Tinjum has participated in nearly 100 solid waste projects. 

If you are planning to attend an Interdisciplinary Professional Programs course, payment is required at the time of registration. Below are the payment options:

Pay by Credit Card

Enroll online and pay by credit card.

• Search for the course on the website and then click on the Enroll Now button from the course webpage.
• Enter all necessary course attendee information and payment information on the course enrollment page.
• You will receive an email to confirm successful enrollment and payment.

Enroll over the phone and pay by credit card.

• Call CERC Registrations at 608-262-2451.
• Provide the registrations representative with:
  • the course name, dates, and/or course number.
  • the necessary course attendee information and payment information.
• You will receive either a mailed document or an email to confirm successful enrollment payment.

Pay by Check

Mail in a completed registration form and check payable to UW Madison.

• Fill out a registration form (found either in the back of the course brochure you received in the mail or here).
• Prepare a check, made payable to UW Madison.
• Mail the registration form and check to: CERC Registrations 21 N Park St, Ste 7101 Madison, WI 53715
• You will receive either a mailed document or an email to confirm successful enrollment and payment.

Pay by Purchase Order

• Request Purchase Order information from interpro@union.wisc.edu
  • If a fee quote is needed, contact custserv@interpro.wisc.edu first
• You will receive an invoice from UW–Madison Business Services for payment, usually within 3–5 business days

Military

If using SF-182 form, please call our registration number at 608-262-2451 or email interpro@union.wisc.edu for details and instructions.

Event Cancellation

We reserve the right to cancel a course due to insufficient enrollment or unforeseen events. If we cancel a course, participants will be notified via email or phone and will be given the option for a full refund or to transfer their registration and any fees paid to another course. We are not responsible for non-refundable plane tickets, hotel reservations, and other travel related expenses. For enrollee Course Cancellation, refer to notes on course page.

If you cannot attend, please notify us no later than one week before your course begins, and we will refund your fee. Cancellations received after this date and no-shows are subject to a $150 administrative fee. You may enroll a substitute at any time before the course starts.