A scientific landfill is termed so because of its scientific design during construction. One of the biggest problems of ordinary landfills is the seeping of solid waste into underlying soil and water, contaminating both. Scientific landfills eliminate the risk of waste seeping underground as the base layer is constructed of 90 meters of clay, thus arresting any seepage or leakage within the landfill. On top of the base layer, a drainage layer made of soil, measuring 15 meters in length and a vegetative layer of 45 centimeters to minimize soil erosion.

The presence of these layers ensures that leachate is collected before it seeps underground.Scientific landfills also act as degassing systems by reducing the production of methane. Since the layers soak most of the impurities in the waste disposed, methane generates slowly compared to the generation speed in ordinary landfills. Vertical wells installed in scientific landfills help extract methane regularly, and the gas can then be used for electricity and heat generation purposes.

Landfill capping is a containment technology that forms a barrier between the contaminated media and the surface, thereby shielding humans and the environment from the harmful effects of its contents and perhaps limiting the migration of the contents. A cap must restrict surface water infiltration into the contaminated subsurface to reduce the potential for contaminants to leach from the site.