Landfill Gas Field Practices and Procedures Manual Revised for the Safety and Wellbeing of our Industry Partners!

By Robert Butler, Field Practices Committee

During the 2022 SOAR Conference, the Landfill Gas and Biogas Field Practices Committee presented an overview of the updated Manual of Field Practices, a project taken on by the committee in 2019. The latest update was completed by a broad group of solid waste industry leaders and professionals for the safety and wellbeing of our SWANA partners!

In 1985, SWANA’s Health and Safety Task Force first published the earliest version of this document primarily as a Health and Safety manual. It was revised in 1992 to its current format as a manual of field practices. In 2011, the document was revised by once again by the committee. The latest revision was published by SWANA in 2021. The goal of the Field Practices Committee moving forward is to update this document as needed to remain abreast of current practices and procedures relating to the control, recovery, and utilization of landfill gas.

Safety and the advancement of the solid waste management industry through the sharing of information on best practices and industry standards has always mattered to SWANA! Just as a mechanic needs a service manual to work on your car, the Landfill Manager and his team needs a manual of field practices and procedures to aid in the understanding of a landfill gas collection system.  

The manual is divided into three sections:

Section I – Health and Safety — Though the manual has evolved over the years, the promotion of health and safety has remained a primary topic as it was in the original publication. This section includes discussion of General Safety, Planning, Safety Plans and Programs, Hazard Assessment and Identification, Safety Equipment, Personal Health and Hygiene, LFG Safety Procedures, Safety Procedures for Well Drilling and Construction, Excavation and Trench Safety, Construction Maintenance, Field Sampling, Respirator Protection, and other Special Conditions.

Section 2 – Landfill Gas Monitoring, Sampling, and Analysis — As landfills have become more complicated, so has the job of monitoring and maintaining them. Knowing what to sample for and the proper analysis to stay in compliance has become more important. This section provides an overview of field monitoring, sampling, and analysis, and applicable references on analytical methods.

Section 3 – Landfill Gas Systems Materials and Equipment — Provides an overview of materials and equipment used in the management of landfill gas control systems for migration, odors, surface emissions, and gas recovery.

Also included is a glossary of health and safety acronyms and a list of health and safety informational websites.

Our Committee feels this revised document brings value to you and your organization as follows:

• It is easily accessed as a downloadable document from SWANA Store.
• It is industry prepared by a committee with knowledge of the industry gained through years of experience in the business.
• It is industry revised by a committee that spent hours of their time revising, updating, and adding to this document over the past two years.
• It is vetted by industry professionals, from both public and private sectors.
• It can help reduce training time by bringing new employees up to speed in a shorter amount of time.
• It has a great price – SWANA Member Price $45; Non-Member $95. The manual can be found in the SWANA Store at the link below.