Leachate Treatment

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has commissioned a leachate treatment plant at the Okhla landfill to overcome the problem of seepage during monsoons.

• Leachate is the black, foul-smelling toxic liquid emanating from rotting garbage at landfills, which not just has fungus and bacteria in it but harmful chemicals as well.
• It gets accumulated at the bottom of the landfill and percolates down through the soil contaminating the groundwater. It contaminates surface water as well.
• Such contamination of groundwater resources poses a substantial risk to local resource users and to the natural environment.
• Leachate generation is a major problem for municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills.
• Leachate treatment options include recycling, on-site treatment, discharge to a municipal sewage treatment plant, or a combination of these approaches.