The way we’ve traditionally managed landfills is evolving quickly under the pressure of increasing public, industry, and regulatory objectives to meet sustainability greenhouse gas initiatives. Many landfills have constructed temporary exposed geomembrane covers as one of the options to provide enhanced landfill gas capture and minimize greenhouse gas emissions. These covers provide many operational and economic benefits including minimizing stormwater infiltration and leachate production, improved stormwater quality, reducing regulatory surface emissions, and reducing cover maintenance costs, among others. 

This presentation provides an overview of some of the key industry changes that have occurred in 2023 and 2024 that are increasing the use of Exposed Temp Caps, discusses benefits and latest enhancements to design standards, and reviews the field performance of several temporary EGMs through adverse weather events. 

After attending this session, participants will be able to: … 

• Make informed decisions about the need and benefit of a temporary exposed cap to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce leachate production. 

• Consider the critical elements for the successful design and construction of a temporary exposed geomembrane cap. 

• Improve the design of temporary exposed caps based on recent successful project examples and lessons learned by the authors.