Sustainable landfill in future waste

management systemsmanagement systems

Harm Ritsemamanager NV Afvalzorg Holding

Malaga, 31 October 2013

Contents

� Afvalzorg in short

� Transition to sanitary landfillPrevention

Reuse

� Next step: sustainable landfill

� Afvalzorg pilot projects

� Conclusions

Recycling

Energy Recovery

Incineration

Landfill

Afvalzorg in short

� Employees 100

� Market-share NL 40%

Shareholders Local governments� Shareholders Local governments

� Operational sites 346 ha.

� Closed sites 93 ha. / 106 ha redeveloped

� Focus Sustainable landfilling

Evolutionary improvements in disposal

Sanitary landfill

Sustainable landfill

Open dumping

Controlled landfill

Engineered landfill

Higherenvironmental

standards

Lowerenvironmental

standards

Transition to sanitary landfill- improve landfill operation -

Transition to sanitary landfill- reduce landfill gas and leachate emissions -

Transition to sanitary landfill- reduce risks -

Transition to sanitary landfill- manage on site scavenging / recycling -

Sanitary landfill

Transition to sanitary landfillsDevelopments in successful NW European countries:1. Before 1970: every municipality operated a landfill; focus on public hygiene;

prevention of nuisance (dust, odour, windblown litter, ..)

2. 1970 -1990: first landfill guidelines; later replaced by environmental protection

laws; municipal landfills closed and replaced by municipal cooperation. laws; municipal landfills closed and replaced by municipal cooperation.

Number of operational landfills reduced to 15% of previous

3. 1990-2000: separate collection of biodegradable waste; composting and

incineration plants built, 5% operational landfills left; aftercare obligation,

landfill bans and landfill taxes introduced;

4. 2000-present: 2% operational landfills left; waste amounts to landfill reduced

considerably; landfill becomes ‘safety net’ for waste management

How to keep control over waste?

� Authorities keep control over start (collection) and end

(landfill) of the waste management chain – contracts /

legislation.legislation.

� Gradual introduction of landfill bans

� Gradual introduction of landfill taxes

Sanitary landfills� Geological barrier, bottom liner and drainage system

� During operation:

� Adopt a waste disposal plan

� limit the surface of the tip face (cell by cell),

� apply daily (or regular) cover,

� install and start landfill gas recovery as soon as possible

� start optimisation of waste management (recycling, re-use, etc)

� After operation: install a permanent surface sealing and carry

out monitoring and maintenance (aftercare)

Open ends at sanitary landfills

� Isolation of waste means endless aftercare (and costs)

� Potential risks remain for a very long period of time

� In general no guidance available to assess landfill related risks

� The burden is transferred to future generations

solution:

Sustainable landfilling

Sustainable landfill

There is no internationally accepted definition but definitions used

are very similar:

“A landfill of which, within a limited period of time (preferably one

generation), the undisturbed contents do no longer pose a threat

to human health or the environment”

No threat implies that aftercare can be ended and the landfill is

‘handed back tot nature’

Organic wastelandfill

Hazardous wastelandfill

Acceptance

(Cement)stabilisation

Sustainable landfill

‘back to nature’

Stabilisedlandfill

Inorganicwastelandfill

Anaerobic treatmentAerobic treatment

Solubility controlFlushing

ClosureAftercareEnd of aftercare

(Cement)stabilisationImmobilisation

Bioreactor (organic waste landfill)

Bioreactor (organic waste landfill)

Air injection/extraction (organic waste landfill)

Over-extraction landfill gas system (organic waste landfill)

red = anaerobic blue = aerobic

Monolith (hazardous waste)

Monolith (hazardous waste)

Goal of sustainable landfill

Waste characteristics

Acceptance at landfill

Waste characteristics

Acceptance

Emissionto environment

Conditionsin landfill

Point Of Compliance

Emissionto soil

Conditionsin landfill

Point ofcompliance

Feasibility of sustainable landfill (1)

� Organic waste: various projects world-wide have shown that

methanisation, (de-)nitrification, aeration are technically

feasible; leachate and hydrology require further attention

� Hazardous waste: (cement-)stabilisation is successfully

practised in various countries; long-term stability is under

investigation

Feasibility of sustainable landfill (2)

� Inorganic waste: clever mixtures of inorganic wastes achieve

leaching conditions comparable with inert waste; prediction of

long-term leaching behaviour is under development

� Overall: some questions remain, low emission alternatives are

possible for many types of waste; costs are higher than

traditional landfill, but do not exceed costs of alternative options

Required developments

� The goal in terms of acceptable remaining emissions needs to

be defined

� Execute pilot projects

� Change regulations; current landfill regulations do not contain

incentives to apply active stabilisation of waste

Pilot projects Afvalzorg

1. Equifill landfill Nauerna

2. Over-extraction of landfill gas landfill Braambergen2. Over-extraction of landfill gas landfill Braambergen

3. Air injection / extraction landfill Wieringermeer

4. Capillary barrier and methane oxidation landfill Wieringermeer

Landfill site Nauerna, Assendelft, 80 ha

1985-date

Equifill (primarily inorganic landfill)

Landfill Braambergen, Almere 46 ha.

Over-extraction landfill gas system

red = anaerobic blue = aerobic

1975-1993

Landfill Braambergen , Redevelopment into ‘recreational energy park’

Landfill ‘Wieringermeer’, 40 ha

Capillary barrier and methane oxidation

Capillary barrier and methane oxidation

Landfill ‘Wieringermeer’

Air injection/extraction

Concluding remarks

� Pilots are needed to prove the sustainable landfill concept

� For many types of waste sustainable landfill is economically

and technically feasible

� Sustainable landfill requires more focus on waste composition,

acceptance, process optimisation and regulatory incentives

� Landfill will continue to play a valuable role in waste management

� A sustainable society consequently needs sustainable landfills

Thank you very much for your attention…