1.5. Reclamation and Restoration of Derelict Lands
1.5. Reclamation and Restoration of Derelict Lands
1.5. Reclamation and Restoration of Derelict Lands
Sanitary landfills are managed disposal sites. They involve burial of waste in the ground and are
the preferred method of solid waste disposal. Most other disposal methods are either
environmentally unacceptable or too expensive for most waste. Examples include burning,
open pit dumping and ocean dumping.
LANDFILL TYPES:
Landfills are classified into four categories:
• clean fill;
• Municipal solid waste landfill;
• Industrial waste landfill; and
• Hazardous waste landfill or hazardous waste containment facility.
1) CLEANFILL:
A cleanfill, or inert waste landfill, is any landfill that accepts only cleanfill material
and inert wastes, including clean excavated natural materials.
In general the only effective environmental controls on discharges to land and
water from cleanfills relate to waste acceptance criteria.
1) MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL (MSWL)
A sanitary landfill is a site where solid wastes are placed on or in the ground at a
carefully selected location by means of engineering techniques that minimize
pollution of air, water and soil, and other risks to man and animals.
A municipal solid waste landfill (MSWL), also often referred to as a sanitary landfill,
is any landfill that accepts municipal solid waste.
A sanitary landfill has low operating costs and can handle a huge amount of solid
waste.
After a landfill has been filled, the sand can be graded, planted with grass and used
as a park, a golf course, an athletic field or some other recreational area.
3) INDUSTRIAL WASTE LANDFILL (IWL):
An industrial waste landfill (IWL) is a landfill that is designed to accept
predominantly industrial waste.
In many cases industrial waste landfills are Mono-fills, associated with a specific
industry or industrial location (for example mining, forestry and smelting) and
designed and operated in
Accordance with the specific wastes targeted.
Design, operation and monitoring requirements may be more, or less, stringent
than for municipal solid waste landfills.
An industrial waste landfill may also receive Municipal solid waste and inert waste,
depending on design.
4) HAZARDOUS WASTE LANDFILL (HWL):
A hazardous waste landfill (HWL), or hazardous waste containment facility (HWCF) is
any landfill that accepts waste formally defined as “hazardous waste” in statutory
instruments, or as specifically determined through any special requirements that may
be set by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA).
THE RECLAMATION PROCESS:
Landfill reclamation is conducted in a number of ways, with the specific approach based on
project goals.
EXCAVATION:
An excavator removes the contents of the landfill cell.
A front-end loader then organizes the excavated materials into manageable stockpiles
and separates out bulky material, such as appliances and lengths of steel cable.
LEACHATE MANAGEMENT:
A leachate management system including pumping wells is in place for a restored landfill.
Collected leachate is being treated on site leachate treatment plant prior to disposal at
adjacent public sewers.
LANDFILL GAS MANAGEMENT:
For safety and health reasons, a landfill gas management system is in place for a
restored landfill.
Landfill gas is collected and treated on site. Some of the collected gas is utilized for
electricity generation for onsite use or thermal energy for leachate treatment.
Excess gas is flared as far as practicable for complete destruction
MONITORING:
Regular monitoring of landfill gas, leachate, organic emission, noise, surface water,
marine water, dust and odour etc are carried out.
LANDSCAPING:
The surface of the landfills is landscaped with selected species of plant.
VEGETATION AT DUMPSITES:
Natural or planted vegetation on a landfill has an important role in erosion control
and removal of contaminants, besides imparting aesthetic value.
Plants are known to increase nutrient availability by secreting organic acids, or specific
enzymes such as phosphate into the soil systems.
Competition for these nutrients by degrading and non-degrading species will influence
the amount of contaminant degraded.
Increases in nutrient availability brought about by plant growth may be one
mechanism by which plants stimulate biodegradation.
Besides increasing the availability of nutrients, plants may also increase the
bioavailability of the contaminant. This feature is of significance in the context of
landfill vegetation.
A good starting point for selection of appropriate plant species for the remediation and
rehabilitation of dumpsites is to employ endemic species.
Reviewing plant species occurring at different landfills facilitates the selection of
suitable plant species to deal with a range of contaminants together.
It is interesting to note that the species diversity is influenced by the nature of origin of
wastes, local flora and the conditions prevailing at the landfill.
Hence, a single species cannot be identified as a universal indicator and the plant
selection should be based on the climatic conditions and the native plants occurring in
a particular landfill.
At Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dumping grounds in Chennai, India, the dominant
plant species recorded were Acalypa indica, Lycorpersicon esculentum, Parthenium
hysteroporus, Cynodon dactylon and Cucurbita maxima