Remotely piloted aircraft-based landfill monitoring

Abstract

Solid waste causes big problems to the environment and public health when disposed of inadequately. Law 14,026/2020 updated the legal framework for sanitation and amended Federal Law 12,305/2012, which establishes the National Policy for Solid Waste, and is regulated by Federal Decree 10,936/2022, which addresses waste management. The stability of waste massifs in landfills can be compromised by vertical and horizontal displacements. To ensure landfill environments' physical and economic safety, operational measurements for monitoring such displacements are essential. Due to technological advances, new equipment and topographic survey techniques have emerged. Among them, the use of the remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) is an alternative for fast and effective monitoring, which can support strategic planning in landfills. The aim of the study was to identify displacements in waste massifs of the municipal sanitary landfill of Lages - SC using the RPA. The aerial survey was performed using the RVJET and Phantom 4 Advanced platforms with ground control points. Subsequently, orthomosaics and digital elevation models were produced. The identification of instability points in the landfill was performed. High displacement velocity was identified only at the massifs in operation. The landfill presented uniform surface settlement intensity and steady deformation velocity, not exceeding the warning level. This study calculated the displacement velocity with longer intervals between measurements than those currently used in traditional methods. Despite this, it was possible to build a database and carry out analysis by visual inspections and variations in the elevation of the massifs for preventive and corrective control of the landfill. RPA demonstrated to be adequate to monitor landfills. However, this assessment must be complemented with other instrumental analyses to understand waste massifs’ behavior over time.