The USEPA through its research and field experiences has developed control strategies for hazardous and municipal solid waste landfills and surface impoundments. These control strategies include liner and cover systems. The liner systems include double liners for hazardous waste and a single composite liner for municipal solid waste. The purpose of each individual component will be discussed with options for using natural in-situ materials or geosynthetics. Although natural soils are used as various components, emphasis has been placed on the use of geosynthetics, including geomembranes, geonets, geotextiles, and plastic pipes. Cover systems for both hazardous and municipal waste facilities are based on a multilayer design. The multilayer component characteristics, including performance, thickness, and material type will be discussed. The designs include both natural soils and geosynthetics. It has been demonstrated with field data that the development of construction quality control/quality assurance will improve the performance of the disposal facility. The improved performance of the waste management facility reinforces the confidence of designers as they understand the limits of designing with geosynthetics.