Landfill

In a landfill waste (synonym: ' garbage ') deposited in the long term and disposed of with a few exceptions.

In contrast to a "wild" garbage dump garbage dump or a landfill is a structural and technical condition, to be achieved with that the deposit of waste as little as possible damage to the environment. These modern storage sites are also referred to as " rendering plants " or " disposal facilities ", sometimes euphemistically referred to as' decommissioning parks ". Apart from the landfilling waste is recycling, incineration and dumping used.

• 3.1 dump fire
• 3.2 pollutants

Classification of landfills

Germany

In Germany all wastes and waste mixtures with a higher organic content must be treated as five percent pursuant to the provisions of the Landfill Ordinance prior to deposition. The assignment of the waste to landfill types are differently equipped according to the Landfill Ordinance and thus after the waste legislation. For the construction of rubble and soil landfills ( inert waste landfills ) ( landfill class DK 0) a waste law permit is required. To set up underground storage ( DK IV) is a mountain regulatory approval is required. For all other landfills, a plan approval process is by waste legislation is sufficient and necessary.

Municipal solid waste landfills may take up since mid-2005, only pre waste in which organic ingredients are almost completely removed. Landfills of class I, II and III are exclusively mineral wastes reserved. These landfills have a mineral base liner and a Sickerwasserdränagesystem. Landfills of class II and III are technically equipped with a mineral seal and a plastic sealing sheet ( PE film ) at the base, also a Sickerwasserdränagesystem is installed to capture and derive percolating fluids. The structure of the DK -II and III landfill is also called " composite liner ".

In Germany landfills have established on 27 April 2009 in accordance with the Landfill Ordinance ( DepV ), be operated and monitored. It came into effect on July 16, 2009. In their landfill classes are defined, from which follow different requirements for the operation and in particular to the closure and aftercare. Crucial for determining the class of landfill, the construction of the landfill. The waste will be analyzed and deposited depending on the load on the relevant landfill class.

The Landfill Directive ( DepV ) provides (depending on the dangerousness of the deposited wastes) landfill five classes (DC ) for the surface storage.

• Landfill for inert waste DK 0 ( slightly contaminated mineral waste )
• Landfill for non-hazardous waste DK I ( with very low organic content )
• Landfill for non-hazardous waste DK II ( low organic content )
• Hazardous waste landfill DK III
• Underground storage DK IV

Landfills for inert waste, such as construction debris unloaded and unloaded floor. Landfill landfill class 0 must have a geological barrier thickness of at least one meter thick and a mineral drainage layer of 0.3 meters. Aboveground landfill for inert waste, the 0 values ​​comply with the assignment of the landfill class according to Annex 3 of the Landfill Ordinance. The DK 0 is introduced for such waste to be classified as inert according to § 6 para 3 Recycling Act. In general, a plan approval procedure is required for the approval and submission of an emissions statement is unnecessary.

These are landfills for " non-hazardous waste ", including treated ( burned or gerottete ) household and commercial waste, industrial waste and storage materials without special monitoring requirements.

• Aboveground landfill for non- hazardous waste ( DK I): ( Overground ) landfill for waste that contains a very low organic content and in which a very low pollutant release in Auslaugversuch takes place.
• Municipal solid waste landfill ( landfill class today DK II): Historically, the first landfills were wild trash heap, former sand pits, quarries or this excavated burrows. Due to the mainly native organic load in earlier centuries, this was not a problem. With industrialization put a massive contamination problems, so landfills were sealed in 1950 after all, against ground water and later also against rain water, in addition followed the side seals. In the 1970s, landfills were considered biological treatment plants. Due to the long reaction times to the decay of organic processes and the considerable volumes at these landfills began in the 1980s, a rethinking. Finally, guidelines and regulations were developed in the 1990s, which should lead to a reduction in the deposition of outgassing materials. Since 2005, waste may only be disposed of with an organic content by weight of not more than five percent.

There are aboveground sites for wastes that a higher proportion of pollutants contained as those who may be disposed of to a landfill of class II, and where the release of pollutants in Auslaugversuch is larger than in the landfill class II and to balance the demands on the are landfill construction and higher at the landfill operation. These include landfills for hazardous waste with special monitoring requirements. The geological barrier must be at least five meters thick. In addition, a leak detection system is prescribed. Thus, the tightness of the seal surface during the follow-up can be checked regularly so that leaks can be detected and remedied in good time.

These are hazardous waste landfills ( underground storage ), in which the waste

• In a mine equipped with an independent deposition area, which is separated created or provided by a mineral extraction, or
• Be deposited in a cavern completely enclosed in the rock.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, there are according to the Technical Ordinance on Waste (TVA ) three types of landfill.

• Inert materials
• Residual material landfill
• Reactor landfills

Since 1 January 2000, no untreated residual waste may be landfilled (there were transitional periods ). The legacy of the large number of former landfill sites today incurs costs in the billions. Based on the VASA ( the tax regulation for the remediation of contaminated sites ) a landfill tax. The proceeds from this incentive tax be used earmarked for the investigation of contaminated sites and remediation of contaminated sites. The amount of the tax varies depending on the type of landfill.

Austria

The Austrian legislator distinguishes several types of landfills.

• Excavated soil landfill
• Inert waste landfill
• Landfills for non-hazardous waste Baurestmassendeponie
• Residual landfill
• Mass waste landfill

Since 1 January 2004, no untreated residual waste more may be landfilled in Austria. There were exemptions until 31 December 2008 with transition periods to 30 June 2009, as not recycling facilities were put into operation in all regions.

EU law on hazardous waste

The disposal of hazardous waste deponietauglichem ( hazardous waste) takes place at hazardous waste sites. Extremely hazardous substances are disposed of underground. Within the EU (Directive EU/1999/31 ) which was transposed into national law applies. In Switzerland there is a similar approach.

Structure of a landfill (after DepV )

A landfill consists of the following elements

• Fencing, which prevents illegal dumping of waste
• Scales for weighing the delivered waste
• Office in which the waste documents to be reviewed and the register is kept
• Laboratory, this facility is used, where appropriate, to meteorological and emission data for the monitoring of leachate and landfill gas rise, here, if necessary, rapid tests are the incoming waste carried out

• A natural geological barrier against the ground to protect the groundwater. For example, clay soil with a hydraulic conductivity less than or equal Kf 1 × 10-9 and landfills of the type II or III of one meter thickness, for hazardous waste at least five meters in thickness
• A mineral sealing layer as a composite liner complements the barrier. For a permeability coefficient Kf of at least 5 × 10-10 applies with a thickness of 0.50 meters ( 0.75 meters at DK III ) and a convection that. Usually an HDPE geomembrane 2.5 mm Stärkeist
• Protection pad for mechanical protection of the said geomembrane, this is mineral or geotextile, sometimes a combination of both.
• Drainage layer, it is at least 30 inches thick and has a permeability coefficient Kf of 1x10- 3 and consists of 16/32 gravel leachate pipes.
• Landfill body, only it follows the more or less compacted waste.

• Drainage layer for landfill gas recovery
• Impermeable mineral sealing layer (2 × 25 cm in DK II)
• HDPE film ( only DK II and III), at least 2.5 millimeter thickness)
• Drainage layer or drainage mat ( for the derivation of the recultivation layer penetrating rainwater )
• Recultivation layer ( at least one meter)

Landfill leachate must be cleaned in a special treatment plant, often in a biological pre-treatment followed by activated charcoal or in a reverse osmosis system. It may thereafter be introduced into the next recipient.

Landfill gas is produced only biodegradable waste, not for inert waste. It must be taken and treated. The use of landfill gas for energy production is funded by the Renewable Energy Sources Act. If recycling is not possible must be burned in a high temperature flare the landfill gas. This may be the case when the methane content is too low, if the gas volume is low.

Ecological damage

Dump fire

In particular landfills with non-compressed organic materials can ignite or catch fire by foreign influence. If these fires not quickly detected and deleted, they can penetrate deep into the mountain of rubbish and burn there as smoldering for months and produce highly toxic fumes. When fighting water cannon often have to be used. Keep out of low fire nests can be achieved only with a quenching lances. Such fires are rare and occur at most on in the interim storage of waste.

In slag dumps it can by chemical reactions occur temperatures up to 50 ° C, which can potentially damage the HDPE bottom liner or other plastic components.

Pollutants

Mercury, lead and cadmium form today due to the change of battery production and the separate collection of batteries (see Battery ordinance) to fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps only a small part of the waste, but are in old landfills quite relevant. Heavy metals, especially mercury, are metabolized in garbage dumps into water-soluble salts. This can be highly toxic (often more toxic than the heavy metals themselves) compounds can reach the groundwater. Haumüllsickerwasser has only low concentrations of heavy metals.

More problematic substances from landfills are hydrocarbons from waste oil, waste paints, solvents, creosote ( from coke ovens and railway sleepers ) and in particular the halogenated organic substances formerly often used ( solvents and cleaning agents, Halon fire extinguisher, PCB and dichlorophenol from plasticizers and insulating ). These substances are still traces of landfill sites; in old landfills are a creeping danger.

Multi-barrier concept

To limit the impact on the environment, modern landfills have a " multi- barrier ". This implies that several security concepts ( in this case, barriers) must exist independently from each other to prevent damage even if one barrier fails. The barriers are hierarchical.

Homeland Security a landfill is the first barrier. Depending on the waste quality (allocation values) or waste pre-treatment by separation particularly dangerous proportions, chemical-physical pre-treatment, incineration, biological treatment ( eradication ) is an internal security.

Site selection. The site is selected for a suitable geology and hydrogeology, such as the presence of impermeable layers. The second barrier is the external security of a landfill.

Nature of the landfill, the landfill body in chemical, biological and physical processes take place. The dump body needs to be constructed so that it is stable and does not penetrate to the outside gas emissions. It should be able to prevent any water infiltration, so not too much leachate is formed. ( The fourth and fifth barrier repair the water leaks in and out )

Landfill bottom liners and leachate treatment should prevent contaminated leachate from entering the groundwater.

Surface seals to prevent the ingress of rain water and the uncontrolled release of landfill gas.

Follow-up and repair the finished fill landfill are used for monitoring of the prior art. A landfill continues to react and must be monitored even 50-100 years. This requires from the beginning all systems be designed so that they can be repaired. For example, the tubes of the leachate collection. Measurements for water and gas budget must continue to be conducted in this period.

Shaping

In Germany landfills are reclaimed surface after it was closed normally. It will remain complex technical arrangements to cover, seal, collection of Sickerstoffen and landfill gas under the greened cultural layer. Recently, it is proposed to make landfills as an artificial landscape elements consciously and make them publicly available.

Landfill aging

In the landfill body chemical, physical and biological processes take place. In a short first phase after the deposition of organic constituents in the waste are aerobically transformed by the remaining atmospheric oxygen into carbon dioxide and water. Then enters an acidic fermentation, while the pH of the leachate decreases to 6.1 to 5.5. This phase lasts several months. Due to the low pH - value metals can go into solution, which remained stable at higher pH. In this phase, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD ) of leachate is high.

After no more than one year, the anaerobic methane fermentation begins, this may be 20 years old and last longer (depending on the TOC content in the waste and water content). The pH of the leachate rises to 8.0 to 8.5. The chemical and biochemical oxygen demand fall and the concentration of leached metals is low.

Landfills as a raw material resources

In German municipal waste landfills approximately 2.5 billion tons of stored household and industrial waste and construction debris. With the dismantling of the existing stockpiles located recyclables can be obtained. Thus, the content of the 750 million tons of household waste and commercial waste without hausmüllartigem Vorwende waste is ( = former GDR ) is estimated to have a calorific value of 2300 TWh of energy, 26 million tons of scrap iron, 850,000 tons of copper scrap and about 500,000 tons of aluminum scrap. From the entire landfill inventory of 83 million tons of iron and 13 million tons of non-ferrous metals can be extracted at a detected iron content of 3.4 % iron scrap. This contrasts with annual consumption in Germany, for example, in 2003, amounting to 610 TWh of electricity and 1.3 TWh of oil, 21 million tons of scrap iron, 1.5 million tons of copper and 3 million tons of aluminum over. From municipal solid waste landfills alone, leaving 58 % of primary energy, 124 % scrap iron, 57 % copper and 22 % of the aluminum cover for a year. Here, metals are in the near future, declining natural resources are increasingly of interest. Any use of the heating value is not yet economically useful at the beginning of the 21st century. For other ingredients such as phosphates, there is no method. The dismantling itself and a controlled Neudeponierung the fractional and inerted residues has been tested on a large scale, whereby reducing the aftercare costs again. At regular follow-up costs 5-25 euros per cubic meter of landfill settlement reduces the costs of a Neudeponie to 45%. With rising commodity prices and changes in methods is a perspective for controlled demolition with use of raw materials.

Landfill in the ecological sense

In a figurative sense is also called natural elements ( water bottom, bottom ) or animals in which an accumulation of toxins or contaminants takes place as a dump site. In the bioremediation abilities of " landfill - organisms " can be used biotechnologically.