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Indonesian municipal solid waste (MSW) is dominated by biodegradable MSW (organic and paper). Due to the degradation process, the physical and hydraulic characteristics of these components can change. It is important to study the physical and hydraulic characteristics of MSW, because landslides occurred in several landfills in Indonesia after heavy rains. Field observations showed that landslides occur due to reduced paper components in the landfill (due to high recycling activities), and cause high percolation of water into the landfill. In the research, 38 samples consisting of two variants of MSW samples (organic and 80% organic + 20% paper), were prepared under the conditions of optimum moisture content. The organic sample of MSW is leaf, while the paper sample of MSW is newspaper, which were shredded to a diameter of about 1 cm. The tests of moisture content, bulk density (in the mould of permeameter), particle size distribution, and permeability were carried out on both sample variants for 90 days, with a test frequency of once in 5 days. The results showed that there was an increase in the moisture content and density, and a decrease in particle size and permeability in both variants of MSW sample. Organic MSW + paper has lower permeability and higher density than organic MSW. This requires further study, because a high paper recycling ratio can lead to a change in the landfill characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A health survey of three villages (upstream village Rantau Baru and two downstream villages, Sering and Pelalawan) in the vicinity of a pulp and paper mill along the Kampar river in the province of Riau, Indonesia was conducted to find whether exposure to the effluents from the mill was related to skin conditions and ill health., Methods: A cross sectional survey was carried out of children living in the three villages., Results: Common skin conditions such as dermatitis, fungal infections, insect bites, and miliaria were found. No significantly increased risk of dermatitis or any illness in general was found with increasing levels of exposure to river water for downstream villages when compared with the upstream village. However, there was an increased risk of diarrhoea in Sering especially with drinking water directly from the river (prevalence rate ratio (PRR) 4.9, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.4 to 63.9). An increased risk was also found within the upstream village Rantau Baru (PRR 2.3, 95% CI 0.9 to 5.8) and downstream village Sering (PRR 1.4, 95% CI 0.4 to 5.2) when children who drank water directly from the river were compared with those who never did. Analysis of the river water also showed physical and chemical variables within the acceptable range except for faecal coliforms (6 MPN/100 ml) found in the sample taken from Sering., Conclusions: The effluent from the mill is unlikely to be causing skin conditions and ill health. Diarrhoea may be due to faecal coliform contamination of the water because all raw sewerage is deposited in the river. Community health outreach programmes are being implemented based on these findings.