Territorial Placement of Solid Municipal Waste Landfills

This paper discusses the scientific foundations of spatial planning for the disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW), which has been intensively accumulated in Russia. It is noted that the chaotic, uncontrolled disposal of waste leads to contamination of atmospheric air, soil, rocks, and groundwater, the most important life-supporting resources of the biosphere, which causes a decrease in the quality of life of people. A scientifically substantiated solution to this problem is based on geotechnical zoning of territories according to geological conditions, which allows finding “geological traps” that can guarantee isolation of waste from the environment. Taking into account the methodology of such zoning, examples of its application for disposing of waste in geological massifs of various degrees of suitability are provided.