Monday, July 23, 2012

Leachate processing unit to be set up - Times of India

LA lachate processing unit will be set up at a Pune landfill, the Times Of India has reported. The Landfill Leachate treatment plant is to be set up at the, Urali- Phursungi landfill. Please vist the original site for the full article



"Tenders worth around Rs 1 crore have been approved for this plant. The plant will process leachate from both the villages including Urali Phursungi. The plant is expected to start in three months time," said a statement issued by the standing committee.




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Leachate is a liquid by-product of the waste. Leachate discharged from the dumping site should be lifted and treated before it is released. Leachate is a combination of liquid residues of heavy and toxic metals. The sodium in the leachate irritates the skin and causes internal injury. Once it enters the body through the skin, it can also cause cancer.


The PMC has started capping project for dealing with the open dumping of garbage and garbage disposal. Capping prevents groundwater contamination by stopping rainwater from percolating through buried garbage.


Scientific capping comprises bio-mining, cutting off drains, provision of geo-membrane, methane gas tapping and reduction and compacting of garbage height. But right now PMC has no special leachate treatment plant. release of untreated leachate is a violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.


The final resting place of the leachate is on the land near Saswad Road railway station. The residents of these areas have been demanding action against it. There are swarming clouds of flies and mosquitoes at the site because of the leachate. People say that their daily routine has been hampered. People say that they don't feel like eating or drinking anything due the unhygienic conditions caused by large amount of leachate spread across the area.


A recent study report of a non governmental organisation , states that the stench from garbage processing and the landfill site pervades the air at neighbouring villages and leachate from the landfill contaminates ground water.


View the original article here

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Landfill site a step closer to approval - Armidale Express

Leachate management features strongly at a new and very environmentally sensitive landfill site in Australis at Armidale Dumaresq Council’s controversial landfill project. State Government approval has been received and the site plans will now be reviewed by the Federal Government, we are told.


The Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) approved the development of the $14 million project, which will be situated about 12 kilometres east of Armidale, on the condition that Council make further provisions to minimise possible environmental harm from leachate and stormwater run-off.



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Ddue to the project’s proximity to “sensitive downstream ecosystems” the PAC required that Council design the landfill to be able to accommodate a one in 100 year rain event for three days.

The PAC Determination Report states: “The Commission notes that the measures for management of stormwater and leachate in this approval are considerably more stringent than those normally required for landfills of this type. This is solely due to the site-specific constraints of this site and its proximity to highly sensitive environments downstream”.



Finding landill site even in such a low popualtion country as Australia is clearly getting had to do. However, it points out that leachate treatment is really important to landfill operators even in dry countries, nowadays:



General manager Shane Burns said Council has been trying to find a new landfill site for approximately 20 years.

“It will enable our community to manage its waste in the future,” he said.

Waste management in Australia is not at a state where a council does not need a landfill.”

Mr Burns said the current landfill site is close to capacity and described Armidale’s current landfill situation as “critical” without a new site.

Mr Burns and Mr Steller said they were optimistic the DSEWPC would approve it considering the rigour of the State Government’s approval process.

The facility is designed to service Armidale for 50 years and would have capacity for 750,000 tonnes of waste.

However the Department of Planning and Infrastructure determined the landfill “would not add to existing pollution loads within the catchment”.

While it is not known how long it will take for the DSEWPC to deliver a verdict on the landfill site, both Mr Burns and Mr Steller agreed construction would take about 12 months.



We recommend a visit to the original article by clicking the link below. The excerpt we have included here is only part of the full articles which is available by clicking the link below:


View the original article here

Friday, July 20, 2012

Oxfordshire Leachate Importation in Waste Ruling


To import or not seems to be the question. However, we are not told in any satisfactory way why leachate importation is seen as a negative matter for the local community, as the volume is unlikely to be larger than previously consented. In any event the sewer operator would be responsible for ensuring no flooding, not the planning department. Please consider visting the original website for the full article. The quoted part of the article below is not the full article:



BANBURY MP Sir Tony Baldry has waded into a row over liquid waste at a north Oxfordshire dump.




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The move comes after villagers opposed an application by waste firm Viridor that would allow it to import liquid waste leachate to its Ardley site.


Leachate is a substance generated by landfill waste which is treated and pumped into the sewage system.


The firm was given approval to build an incinerator at Ardley, near Bicester. But as a condition, imposed after a public inquiry in 2010, it must stop importing leachate to its treatment works at Ardley once the incinerator is operating. The company wants this condition lifted.


Sir Tony has written to Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, asking him to call in the application.


His letter said: “Local residents are concerned if Viridor is allowed to continue to treat leachate at Ardley, it makes something of a mockery of the public inquiry only two years ago – that it would increase the risk of flooding and will mean even more lorries going to and from the site.”

View the original article here

Monday, July 16, 2012

Waverly Virginia Largest Landfill May be Fined for Leachate Seeps

Nobody wants scarce landfill money to be wasted on lawyers, but we are told that in the case that follows that a fine is being considered by the State Regulator. Leachate has to be carefully managed in all landfills.




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If it does not happen, then at some point the landfill operator has to be made to respect the requirements in order to prevent pollution of water resources outside the landfill site. After reading our excerpt from the full article, below, please visit the original full artile using the link provided:



State regulators are proposing a $56,400 environmental fine for Virginia's largest landfill.



The Virginian-Pilot says Department of Environmental Quality inspectors reported leachate seeps in July 2011. According to case records, the landfill used unauthorized ditches and holes to capture the seeping liquid from garbage.


The landfill is owned by Waste Management. Company spokeswoman Lisa Kardell tells the newspaper that it's taking steps to contain future leachate seeps and protect against similar slides.

The state agency is taking public comments on the proposed settlement through July 23.


View the original article here

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Pennsylvania Sanitary Landfill Operator Fined for Late Renewal of Permit to Release Leachate

In a case of failing to keep up with the paperwork the Pennsylvania Departmtent of Environmental Protection has fined the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill operator fined for late renewal of its permit to release leachate to the Lower Delaware river. Part of the problem may have been the unusual requirement which the authorities have placed on the application that it be made 1 year in advance.




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Is this all an unnecessary bureacrtic nonsense? We tend to think so, but we suggest that you read the full article and come to your own view!



The operators of the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill was fined for failing to reapply on time for a permit allowing the release of treated leachate into a waterway.


Landfill district manager Scott Perin said the late submission was due to "different interpretations" by the landfill and the Delaware River Basin Commission about when the reapplication was required. The basin commission is expected to grant a permit renewal on Wednesday.


On Monday, basin commission spokeswoman Katharine O'Hara said in an emailed response that Grand Central was fined $2,000 for a late processing fee in addition to the $1,000 reapplication fee. Perin said on Monday that he could not remember how much Grand Central was fined.


The river basin commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday to vote on whether or not the Plainfield Township landfill, which is owned and operated by Waste Management, will be granted a renewal permit to continue releasing 100,000 gallons per day of treated leachate into the Little Bushkill Creek.


Commission staff are recommending approval of the landfill's reapplication. According to the docket, the discharge's drainage area is in a non-tidal portion of the Delaware River known as the Lower Delaware, which is designated by the commission as Special Protection Waters.


On Friday, O'Hara said in an email that the landfill's previous discharge docket had required the applicants to file for a reapplication one year in advance of its April 2009 expiration date. After notification was sent out by the commission in January 2011, the landfill submitted its renewal application in March 2011, which will be considered for approval on Wednesday.


In order to release the treated leachate, the landfill is also required to have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the Pennsylvania Departmtent of Environmental Protection, which was reissued in December 2009.



View the original article here

Saturday, July 07, 2012

Biogas and Why It Is A Sustainable Renewable Energy Source

Hi ! Readers. Here is a video I have made in order to explain the benefits of biogas.



Did you find it interesting, entertaining for the right or the wrong reasons?

Your comments would be greatly appreciated to let me understand whether a video like this is a worthwhile use of my time or not!

Thank you - in advance!

Here is some of the text from the video:
"Biogas is also called biomethane, swamp gas, landfill gas, or digester gas, is the gaseous product of anaerobic digestion ( decomposition without oxygen ) of organic matter. In addition to providing electricity and heat, biogas is helpful as a automobile fuel. When processed to pureness standards, biogas is named "replaceable natural gas" and can be used as a substitute for natural gas as a new fuel for natural gas automobiles."

Friday, July 06, 2012

Leachate Troubles for Bay Harbor - Environmental Solutions Move Closer

Bay Horbor has been beset by legal wrangling over the problematic discharges of leachate to the bay. At the legal level the lawyers between state and community have needed to get responsibilities resolved so that technical solutions can be completed. In the following excerpt for the leachate blog readers we are pleased to be able o report that at last the government lawyers are getting the tangle of responsiibilities sorted out. Please visit the original article and source of this quotation. You can do that by following the link below the article.



A newly reached agreement gives Michigan state officials long-term oversight responsibilities for ongoing efforts to control caustic seepage along parts of the Bay Harbor resort’s shoreline.


“We’re now kind of turning the page,” said Bob Wagner, a remediation division supervisor with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.


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The state is assuming the primary oversight role for environmental remedies which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has filled on an interim basis at Bay Harbor.


The new agreement, executed Thursday, involves the DEQ, Michigan Department of the Attorney General, CMS Land and the related CMS Capital. The agreement, which took about a year to develop, requires the continued operation and maintenance of collection systems that have been put in place along the Lake Michigan shore to capture leachate. Wagner said the EPA reviewed the document prior to its execution.




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CMS Land, a former Bay Harbor development partner, has taken responsibility for implementing the environmental remedies, which respond to the seepage of cement kiln dust leachate.




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“After seven years of site study and remediation, we’re pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement that will protect Little Traverse Bay now and into the future,” said CMS Land area manager Tim Petrosky.


Portions of Bay Harbor and neighboring East Park were developed over deposits of cement kiln dust, a waste product from the years when a cement plant operated along the corridor. Leachate is formed when water comes in contact with the dust.


Seepage of leachate was identified as an issue along several stretches of Bay Harbor shoreline around 2004-05. But measures have since been put in place to control the seepage, and environmental regulators recently have noted that they’re performing effectively.


“All of the standards are being met,” Wagner said. “In fact, it looks beautiful out there. Things have never looked better.”


Because of its caustic nature, health officials have said untreated leachate potentially can damage human skin or tissue coming in contact with it, and that it contains toxic substances such as mercury in concentrations too high for surface water release.


Collection lines designed to capture leachate before it enters surface water are among the features which CMS has put in place in affected areas to control the seepage.


CMS noted that the new agreement calls for the company to install features such as additional collection lines, force mains and provisions for stormwater runoff management.


Petrosky said these measures are meant to increase collection system reliability and redundancy and reduce potential for leachate to migrate beneath collection lines and into surface water.


“While the agreement signifies that much of our remediation work is complete we will remain diligent in our operation of the water collection and treatment systems to ensure all environmental and public safety standards continue to be met,” CMS Land president David Mengebier said.


When asked whether EPA sees much of a role for itself at the Bay Harbor site in the future, agency spokesman Joshua Singer said he’d need to consult with on-site staff before commenting in detail.


“We always work with our state partners,” he noted.


Leachate disposal


— In the past few years, CMS has had collected leachate trucked away from Bay Harbor for disposal, recently relying on a commercial injection well near Johannesburg.


— Since 2011, the company has been transitioning to on-site treatment processes that allow for the liquid to be released into Little Traverse Bay once it’s processed.


— A plant used to treat seepage collected in the East Park area went online last year. A separate plant to handle seepage from the Bay Harbor shoreline went into operation in recent months.



View the original article here

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Conestoga Landfill Plan to Expand Sewage Treatment Plant for Leachate Dropped

This plan to build a dedicated specialized leachate treatment plant instead of extending a standard sewage treatment plant built for the quite different characteristics of landfill leachate, which is far stronger and contains far more ammonia than sewage is just common sense. What is surprising is that it has taken 2 years to establish this. I have carried out similar studies with water companies for leachate treatment projects and in only one case did it make economic sense to do this and that was because the municipality was being given an EU grant per head of population so the requested head of population equivalent was raised according to the strength of the leachate, and the EU paid whatever it cost.




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Of course, for the specialist leachate treatment plant to achieve and reliable economic performance it will need to be well designed, and well implemented with quality construction. Your webmaster would be pleased to asist with that, if given the opportunity!


Please visit the original web site for the full article. The following is an extract only:



The Conestoga Landfill in New Morgan has announced that, after nearly two years of technological and financial analysis, it won't foot the bill to expand the Caernarvon Township sewage treatment plant to treat its leachate.

"Corporate decided it was too cost prohibitive and not doable," division manager Lee Zimmerman said Thursday, referring to the facility's owner, Republic Services Inc. of Phoenix.

Constructing a leachate treatment plant on the 652-acre site would cost about $10 million, while modernizing the township plant likely could double that figure, he told the Conestoga Citizens Advisory Committee at its quarterly session in the landfill offices.

Gene Bonner, the landfill's environmental manager, has said the landfill's current plant for treating eachate - a smelly black liquid that drains through and from landfills - is increasingly inadequate.

In each of the past three months, the facility has generated about 1.6 million gallons of the liquid with up to a half needing to be hauled to other treatment facilities, Zimmerman said. The state Department of Environmental Protection is not happy with that because it puts hundreds of trucks on the roads each month, he said.

Conestoga recently applied to the DEP for a building permit, which could take up to a year to clear, plus another two years for construction, he added.

"We wanted badly to partner with somebody local to make this joint treatment project work," Zimmerman said.

Committee member Thomas M. Legel, president of the Twin Valley School Board, said the added sewage capacity in Caernarvon Township could have been useful to help attract new commercial, industrial and residential development.
We understand that the landfill is the largest of four in Berks County and takes about 2,000 tons of trash a day, mainly from Philadelphia and New Jersey, and Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, so this is a landfill of significant regional size.


View the original article here

Leachate Contaminating Lakes Mavallipura Shivakote and Kudlu

The Hindu has recently reported that important water bodies in Mavallipura, Shivakote, Kudlu have been contaminated with leachate. This is very serious, and that such things are happening suggests a community which has lost its way. Unfortunately, once normal aquatic life has been damaged and a lake becomes de-oxgenated it takes a long while to recover, even if the source of the pollution ceases completely.




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13 villages around the landfill, have been badly hit. There appears to be little or no hope of that according to this excerp from an original artcle ith the Hindu. If enough money was spent a leachate treatment plant could be built which would prevent this pollution occuring, and the leacate could be collected if the landfill was lined. Of course, that is how it is done in other countries, but unfortunately this seems to be an example of a location where everyone will suffer. This is possibly due to poverty and lack of the political will to look after the environment for the benefit of all. Please visit the original web site by following th link below this excerpt:


The Koramarakunte Lake in Mavallipura was once a water source. Today, the villagers of Mavallipura do not even let their livestock drink from it. The reason is that the lake is completely contaminated by the leachate from the several tonnes of garbage nearby at the dump yard managed by Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. More than 150 truck-loads of garbage from the city are dumped at the landfill daily.

M. Ramesh, gram panchayat member and resident, alleged that the leachate is untreated and allowed to seep into the ground. As many as 13 villages are affected by the groundwater contamination, he claimed.

Tired of raising these issues, the residents had prevented the trucks from dumping waste in the landfill in the past six days. It was only on Sunday that the trucks were let inside the landfill. On Sunday, several trucks laden with garbage were seen lined outside the gates. Mr. Ramesh said that due to prolonged exposure to garbage and toxins, the villagers have begun contracting skin and other diseases. Not just villagers, but even livestock reared by the villagers are developing diseases. Agriculture and agri-based activities, which is the mainstay in 13 villages around the landfill, have been badly hit.

Dalit Sangharsh Samiti member B. Srinivas has for long been fighting against the unscientific handling of solid waste here. With more villagers falling ill, he has submitted more than 100 memoranda to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to take action against Ramky. Representations have been sent to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission but to no avail.

He said that the company has not followed the specifications for landfill sites as prescribed under Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. “The rules stipulate that the landfill should be away from habitation clusters, forest areas, water bodies, monuments, national parks, wetlands and places of important cultural, historical or religious interest. This landfill has blatantly violated this requirement. Also, the leachate is contaminating the drinking water source,” he claimed.

The leachate has contaminated the water bodies in Mavallipura, Shivakote, Aiwarakandapura and Kudlu. Water from these bodies flows into the Arkavathy basin and later Tippagondanahalli reservoir. Water from Tippagondanahalli is supplied to many parts of Bangalore.

“Ideally, leachate has to be stored in concrete-based ponds, lined with tarpaulin. This is to mainly prevent it from seeping into the ground. This is not being followed. Only when the BBMP officials come, the Ramky personnel cover some garbage mounds with tarpaulin to show that they are following the rules. All this is just eyewash,” he said.

Senior BBMP officials conceded that Ramky had failed to adhere to the agreement norms. They said that the BBMP had levied a fine of Rs. 5 lakh on Ramky. “The company claims that it has not been able to adhere to the agreement due to lack of sufficient land. As per the agreement, 100 acres were to have been handed over to the company. However, only 38 acres was handed over. Land is a major impediment. The Government took away 20 acres for the construction of homes under Ashraya scheme. Another 20 acres is under litigation,” they said.

The company has also claimed that there was delay in procuring machinery to set up a waste-to-power plant at the site. “The KSPCB clearance is in the final stages. The permission will not be given if Ramky does not meet the prescribed standards,” they officials said.

The officials added that the link between water contamination due to garbage and increase in health disorders among the villagers has not been established. This, even though tests on water samples showed that it was not fit for consumption.

“The KSPCB is monitoring leachate seepage, while a team from the Indian Institute of Science is looking into the reasons behind the increase in diseases among villagers. Meanwhile, the BBMP has decided to give Ramky time to set up the power plant. If they fail to do so, the BBMP will cancel the contract,” the officials said.


View the original article here

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Pune Municipal Corporation Leachate Processing Unit Goes Ahead


A leachate processing unit of unstated design will be implmented for the garbage dumping sites in Urali- Phursungi. This must be good news for the locals. You can visit the original "Times of India" web site by following the link provided below the article. excerpt below:



PUNE: The solution to long pending problem of leachate processing at the garbage dumping sites in Urali-Phursungi is in sight.


The Pune Municipal Corporation standing committee gave a green signal to set up the processing unit at the site on Tuesday.




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Tenders worth around Rs 1 crore have been approved for this plant. The plant will process leachate from both the villages including Urali Phursungi. The plant is expected to start in three months time," said a statement issued by the standing committee.
Leachate is a liquid by-product of the waste. Leachate discharged from the dumping site should be lifted and treated before it is released. Leachate is a combination of liquid residues of heavy and toxic metals. The sodium in the leachate irritates the skin and causes internal injury. Once it enters the body through the skin, it can also cause cancer.


The PMC has started capping project for dealing with the open dumping of garbage and garbage disposal. Capping prevents groundwater contamination by stopping rainwater from percolating through buried garbage.


Scientific capping comprises bio-mining, cutting off drains, provision of geo-membrane, methane gas tapping and reduction and compacting of garbage height. But right now PMC has no special leachate treatment plant. release of untreated leachate is a violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.


The final resting place of the leachate is on the land near Saswad Road railway station. The residents of these areas have been demanding action against it. There are swarming clouds of flies and mosquitoes at the site because of the leachate. People say that their daily routine has been hampered. People say that they don't feel like eating or drinking anything due the unhygienic conditions caused by large amount of leachate spread across the area.


A recent study report of a non governmental organisation , states that the stench from garbage processing and the landfill site pervades the air at neighbouring villages and leachate from the landfill contaminates ground water.



View the original article here

Sunday, July 01, 2012

Going Green: Oswego County Landfill -

In this case the US experts have re-discovered something known to the rest of the world for years! Columns packed with high surface area media of all sorts have been found to be effective for ammonia reduction from leachate, but building plants to do that at full-scale doesn't work. Recently, for example about 10 such plants were built for Powys Council in the UK, the designs were all based upon this principle and combined with reed beds, and they are failing their discharge consent requirements, which means by definition that they are causing pollution.


None of the South Wales leachate plants built in this way has proved satisfactory and all need to be re-built based upon more reliable treatment methods. I expect that many of our readers know why this type of plant does not work reliably for sustained periods of years through all seasons and weather conditions. If you do, please give us your thoughts in the comments box below. Otherwise, your blogger feels he may be blogging to no purpose. Show me you are alive! By commenting - even if only to say; "Hi! - Why has this method of leachate treatment been found unworkable?"



Leachate, the wastewater from the Oswego County Landfill, contains too much ammonia to be sent directly to the county's wastewater treatment plant so the landfill operators were looking at a $500,000 solution.


"We were looking at all various systems from mechanical, electrical, removal of ammonia, all which are very expensive. And we were ready to proceed with a constructive wetland which would probably be in a half million dollar range," said Frank Visser, Oswego County Director of Solid Waste.


The constructed wetland would use bacteria to reduce the ammonia level, but instead of a wetland they are trying something different.


"The challenge is to reduce the concentration of ammonia in the leachate. We built a column, like a home for the bacteria, high surface area with a reservoir at the bottom. We use this to culture the bacteria from the natural wetland and circulate the water through it," said Dr. David Johnson, of SUNY-ESF. "What happens in this case, is the ammonia is in its reduced form, just the way carbon is in its reduced form in methane. When it gets oxidized you get energy from it, and this is what the actual bacteria is living off of. The energy comes from that oxidation."


The ammonia gets oxidized to nitrates, so the concentration of ammonia decreases and the effluent is now ready for the wastewater treatment plant. According to Dr. Johnson, people from New York and from other states are very interested because the results have been very good.


"If this system works, we hope to build a reactor to take care of the ammonia, probably in the range of $150,000 to $200,000, which would be a lot less that what a constructed wetland would cost," said Visser.



IF Dr. Johnson would like to come to Wales and meet me, I will show him why this leachate treatment process design doesn't work.


View the original article here

Leachate Treatment for Watercourse Discharge in Central Newfoundland

Waste Management in Central Newfoundland Moves to Lined Landfills: The Newfoundland and Labrador municipal Authorities are moving forward with fewer landfills which are lined and include leachate treatment to produce a high quality effluent suitable for discharge to streams and rivers. This with increased diversion of waste away from landfill, by recycling seems to be putting the area "on the map" as far as its waste management practices are concrened. See the full article below our excerpt:



A new waste management facility in Norris Arm has opened, and is the first municipal landfill in the province to contain a liner to prevent landfill pollutants from leaking into the soil and water.




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The new landfill is part of a provincial solid waste management strategy that has so far seen the closure of 42 landfills across central Newfoundland.


Municipal Affairs Minister - Kevin O’Brien said the plan continues to progress.


“As a result of investments to date, approximately two-thirds of the province’s population is disposing of waste in one of two lined landfills with leachate collection. Throughout our province we have reduced the number of disposal sites by over 50 per cent and almost 50 per cent of our province’s population already has access to recycling facilities,” he said in a government news release.


The main part of the project was the construction of a new landfill. These pollutants, in the form of landfill leachate, are collected and treated on site to meet strict environmental standards before the water is eventually released back into the environment.


The project also included the construction of an administration building, a maintenance garage, public drop off area, construction and demolition disposal area, weigh scales, and roads at the regional site in Norris Arm. Seven local waste management facilities, consisting of a transfer station building, public drop off and weigh scales, were built throughout the central region.


The solid waste strategy is budgeted at $64.6 million. The government is using $21.3 million of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation toward eligible costs. The remaining $43.3 million was funded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Municipal Capital Works Program.


“The goals of the Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy are to reduce the amount of materials in provincial landfill sites by 50 per cent, reduce the total number of waste disposal sites by 80 per cent, eliminate open burning of waste at disposal sites and phase-out incinerators, phase out unlined landfills, and encourage residents of Newfoundland and Labrador to participate in waste diversion programs such as recycling and composting. Full implementation of the strategy is scheduled for 2020,” states the news release.



View the original article here