GRANOVA as landfill construction material

Landfills are planned according to the multi-barrier concept. Each individual barrier serves to ensure adequate long-term protection for the environment against adverse effects from waste. For the implementation of landfill construction measures, various mineral substitute building materials – including household waste incineration ash – are required.

Safety and stability according to Landfill Directive

The Landfill Directive serves as the legal basis for German landfill construction. It is decisive for the construction, operation, decommissioning/closure and aftercare of landfills and also regulates the use of landfill construction materials. It applies to carriers and operators/owners of landfills and long-term storage facilities, producers and owners of waste and operators of facilities for the production of substitute landfill construction materials.

Landfill construction according to the multibarrier principle

Multi-barrier principle of landfill sites

The Landfill Directive regulates, among other things, the following requirements:

  • Geological barrier: Serves to prevent the spread of pollutants in liquid or gaseous form.
  • Location in relation to groundwater: Minimum requirement is a distance of at least 1 m between the highest expected groundwater level and the upper edge of the geological barrier.
  • Hydraulic barrier: The potential gradient of the groundwater flow direction is considered as an additional possible barrier.
  • Landfill base sealing: Installation on the lateral embankment surfaces as well as on the landfill level; it is a combination of mineral sealing layers and/or plastic sealing sheets stratified on top of it, to which an appropriate protective layer is applied to protect against damage.
  • Drainage system: Water and leachate accumulate in the landfill, which are collected and discharged in a controlled manner.
  • Stability of the landfill body: The stability of the landfill can be increased by solidifying the waste, e.g. with lime or cement.
  • Landfill surface sealing: The system consists of several layers such as the recultivation layer, the drainage layer or drainage system, a mineral sealing layer, possibly a gas drainage layer and a levelling layer.
  • Controlled degassing: If relevant quantities of gas concentrations occur, gas drains and landfill gas handling, discharge and treatment equipment must be installed.
  • Controlled water and leachate collection.

Applications in landfill construction

GRANOVA incinerator bottom ash (IBA) can be used as a secondary landfill construction material in the base sealing, surface sealing or in other landfill construction measures such as profiling, gas drainage layer or levelling layer.

Dependent on the landfill class, the following application areas result for IBA as landfill construction material.

Landfill construction with IBA: Application areas by landfill class

Application areas of GRANOVA incinerator bottom ash in landfill construction

The components of sealing systems

Base sealing of landfill sites - an example

Example of a base sealing

Surface sealing of landfills consist of various components

Example of a surface sealing

Advantages at a glance

  • Quality-assured landfill construction material
  • Proven compliance with the German Landfill Directive (DepV)
  • High economic efficiency
  • Conservation of natural resources
  • Sustainable construction method
  • Execution in the interests of a functioning circular economy