Study on the Natural Soil Properties Endau Rompin National Park (PETA) as Compacted Soil Liner for Sanitary Landfill

The sanitary landfill plays an important role in the framework of solid waste disposal. A liner is a very important component in the landfill as a barrier to leachate migration into the environment. If the landfill system is not well managed it will contaminate the soil and ground water, thus presenting a risk to human and environmental health. The objective of this study is to investigate the natural soils properties at Endau-Rompin National Park (PETA), Johor that are suitable as a compacted soil liner. There are two locations of soil sampling i.e. Kampung Peta (KP) and Nature Education and Research Centre (NERC). The soil samples were taken to geotechnical and Environmental Engineering Laboratory UTHM for analysis of soil characteristics and its chemical compositions. The tests were sieve analysis, particle size analyzer, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, and X-Ray Fluorescence. The results revealed that the natural soil properties are capable of meeting the criterion and suitable to be used as a compacted soil liner for sanitary landfill. The results revealed gravels less than 30%, sands less than 70%, silts and clays greater than 20%, and Plasticity Index less than 30%. The chemical compositions at KP for SiO_2, Al_2O_3, Fe_2O_3, TiO_2, and K_2O are 56.3%, 27.8%, 12.6%, 2.2%, 0.43% respectively. NERC, its chemical compositions for SiO_2, Al_2O_3, Fe_2O_3, TiO_2, and K_2O are 69.8%, 23.2%, 5.0%, 1.25%, 0.32% respectively. Therefore, the natural soil properties at KP and NERC, Endau-Rompin National Park (PETA) are suitable to be used as a compacted soil liner for sanitary landfill.