This paper presents an analysis of the performance of mineral barriers used for the environmental management of landfills and the containment of potentially polluting areas. Geosynthetic clay liners, consisting of bentonite embedded between layers of geomembrane and geotextile, offer a number of advantages including flexibility, ease of installation and good performance under high saturation conditions due to their semi-permeable membrane properties. A comparative analysis was carried out between geosynthetic clay liners and compacted clay liners with the aim of assessing the environmental sustainability of the two solutions through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The study initially focused on three main process steps and calculated their carbon footprint (CF): - The extraction of raw materials in the case of Compacted Clay Liners and the production of geosynthetics in the case of Geosynthetic Clay Liners; - The transport of materials from the extraction or production site to the landfill construction site; - The construction of the liner system and the final cover of the landfill are the final stages of the landfill construction process.