Landfill management, planning and construction
Companies that operate landfills bear long-lasting responsibility for the safety of the environment, from the planning phase to the actual operation and eventual closure of the site. Besides ensuring that adequate resource plans are in place, one of the day-to-day tasks of running a landfill is to make sure that all activities are carried out and documented in accordance with technical and legal requirements. This additionally provides transparency for all stakeholders, including residents and communities.
According to the Landfill Directive, all landfill sites shall be classified into one of the following classes:
- Landfill for hazardous waste
- Landfill for non-hazardous waste
- Landfill for inert waste
The class influences the required structural and monitoring measures at the landfill site. Over-ground landfill sites are generally built based on the multi-barrier principle, encapsulating the waste. Each barrier is meant to provide sufficient protection of the environment from the possible adverse effects of waste.
The complexity of construction depends on the materials to be landfilled. Technical requirements concerning the construction cover issues such as stability, emission control or the integration into the local landscape.