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Landfill Reclamation

Landfill Reclamation. Neil Wilson. Landfills. Often in rural areas; city landfill reclamation can be relatively more rewarding Fresh Kills, Staten Island, NY 2,200 acres. Landfill Reclamation. Use of term ‘reclamation’ Major motives Recovery, processing and resale of material

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Landfill Reclamation

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  1. Landfill Reclamation Neil Wilson

  2. Landfills • Often in rural areas; city landfill reclamation can be relatively more rewarding • Fresh Kills, Staten Island, NY • 2,200 acres

  3. Landfill Reclamation • Use of term ‘reclamation’ • Major motives • Recovery, processing and resale of material • Reduce landfill footprint • Recovery of space

  4. Landfill Reclamation • Excavation- actual mining of the site, removing waste and separating materials • Soil and compost, metals, plastics, glass • Combustible fuel, methane • Can be expensive to process to market quality • Much rarer for an attempted restoration to a productive ecosystem

  5. Challenges • Subsidence • Hazardous waste • Gases and leachate • Old landfill designs

  6. Potential Goals • ‘Garden’ or cultivated sense is common, e.g. city park, passive recreation; nature conservation. ‘Useful space’ • Using adjacent habitats as reference sites, to reach for as much connectivity as possible • Restoring a site to historical conditions may only be worth it when: • very specific past ecological role • small • densely populated region

  7. Techniques • Establishing cap/ground stability and a thick soil layer are crucial • Establishing trees on cap was considered a bad idea • Rupture cap • Dry out cap • Gas, leachate, high temp • Roots are not as effective or penetrating as thought • Major barriers to plant growth • Compaction: preplanting aeration/tilling very beneficial • Landform: natural drainage, minimize waterlogging • Soil depth: 1.5 m at least for clay caps

  8. Natural Restoration • Return some semblance of natural process; idea of eliminating limiting factors, or ‘guiding’ • Connector or green-way between larger natural areas • Natural restoration requires less soil quality, less topsoil and far less upkeep than agriculture • More flexible landscape design- settlement/poor drainage areas etc become microhabitats, not problem areas; also, easier to accommodate gas recovery systems, etc

  9. Restoration Ecology • Unarguably beneficial in terms of ecological, human interests • Economics often limiting factor in restoration projects- yet in Collier County, FL: • 26 acre landfill; 7 year project • $300,000 capital expenses • $4.5-5 million saved over seven years • Public support is often strong, and community involvement easier to garner

  10. Restoration Ecology • What does landfill reclamation represent? • Recycles large amounts of otherwise lost material, reduces footprint, and provides opportunity to resolve toxicological issues • Parkland or ‘usable space’ is a huge step ahead of brownfield in terms of productivity • Landfill restoration? • Returns ecosystem function • Can improve ecosystem health, connectivity; develop new human connection to the land • No historical element

  11. References • AS Gregory, A. V. (2003). Effects of amendments on soil structural development in a clay soil-forming material used as a cap for landfill restoration. Environmental Sciences and Pollution Mgmt , 273-276. • Harvard. (1990). Landfill Reclamation Project- Collier County. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from Harvard Kennedy School's Government Innovators Network: www.innovations.harvard.edu/awards.html?id=3501 • Lazarus, A. (1995). Landfill mining and reclamation- An emerging technology. Environmental Sciences and Pollution Mgmt , 36-39. • Nelson, H. (1995, Vol. 36). Landfill reclamation projects on the rise. BioCycle , 83-84. • Simmons, E. (1999). Restoration of landfill sites for ecological diversity. Waste management and research , 511.

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