What is a sanitary landfill and how does it differ from open dumping?

A sanitary landfill is an engineered facility for solid waste disposal that minimizes environmental impact through proper site selection, liner systems, leachate collection, gas management, and daily cover of waste. Unlike open dumping which has no controls and causes pollution, landfills have impermeable liners to prevent groundwater contamination, drainage systems for leachate, and gas collection for methane. Modern landfills are designed per environmental regulations.