MSW landfills: license and construction

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

Currently, there are about 24,000 facilities in Russia that belong to landfills for municipal solid waste. At the same time, only a tenth of them are operated on a legal basis, not to mention compliance with the rules and regulations established by Rosprirodnadzor. This is partly due to the problems that arise at the stages of registration, design and construction of such facilities. It is no secret that solid waste landfills are very specific and impose special requirements on the owners for maintenance, as well as reclamation or transfer to another status. Each of these issues should be studied in detail to increase the chances of realizing a modern, safe and legally clean landfill.

Licensing landfills

Waste collection and disposal activities are strictly regulated and subject to registration. A license is a document authorizing the handling of household and industrial waste. Before starting the registration procedure, it is necessary to make sure that the enterprise meets the requirements of the supervisory authority that will assess the landfill. A license is issued only on condition that the facility meets sanitary and epidemiological standards,is equipped with the necessary equipment, serviced by workers with professional training, etc. In addition, the applicant must provide a draft system that will carry out production control during waste management.

Documents for obtaining a license

Wishing to obtain a license to conduct this type of activity must submit to Rosprirodnadzor a package that includes the following set of documents:

• documents of a legal entity;
• list of works planned to be carried out in the field of waste management;
• documents confirming the right to own the site where the waste collection zone is planned to be located (often solid waste landfills are built up with special structures, which also require relevant documents);
• certificate of successful environmental review;
• certificates for the right to handle waste;
• certificate of payment of the state duty for obtaining a license.

Procedure for issuing a license

Rosprirodnadzor checks information and documents submitted by applicants within 5 days. Based on the results of the check, a decision is made in the form of a refusal or granting a license. As a rule, MSW landfills receive a license if they initially comply with technical, legal and environmental requirements. The correctness of the package of documents is also important. During procedural processing, employees of Rosprirodnadzor check the completeness and accuracy of the information specified in the application and documents.

It is important to note that the so-called self-regulating communities (SROs) have been gaining popularity in construction in recent years, participation in which relieves new market participants from the need to obtain an appropriate license. In the field of waste management, this practice is only gaining momentum, but joining the SRO of this profile can be very useful. Representatives of such associations not only legalize their solid waste landfills, but also receive legal, informational and technical support from their colleagues, which is especially important at the first stages of enterprise development.

Polygon design

Already at the stage of project development, the special purpose of the landfill as an object designed for the collection and disposal of household waste is taken into account. In order to minimize the dangerous impact of such complexes on the ecological situation of the adjacent territory, the project provides for protective systems that act as barriers to pollutants. Their presence determines the difference between special landfills and ordinary landfills.

To successfully neutralize harmful effects during the operation of the future facility, the design of solid waste landfills should include the following work:

• Development of a waterproofing system for a polluted array. This is necessary to prevent direct contact between the landfill mass and sediments.
• Working out and drawing up a plan for the surface of the landfill zone, taking into account the location of slopes to ensure diversionsurface runoff.
• Creating a ventilation system for the landfill.
• Development of a leachate management and control system.
• Planning for gardening.

Design is carried out in accordance with principles that minimize the likelihood of an environmental crisis and environmental pollution. At the same time, water bodies are the most important from the point of view of safety.

Construction of polygons

Measures for the technical implementation of solid waste landfill projects are in many ways similar to traditional construction projects. Such complexes may include the same engineering communications, utility structures, etc. The differences include the consideration of special requirements for insulation and the selection of building materials. In addition, the construction of a solid waste landfill also involves the construction of sanitary facilities with impervious screens, which are the main elements in any complex of this type.

Natural geological barriers to the spread of pollution are rare in practice, so developers equip special protective screens on the surface of the working area. These barriers minimize the risk of environmental damage from the adverse environment of landfills.

Recultivation of landfills

Starting the design of the landfill, one cannot exclude the possibility of its possible reclamation. This is a responsible event, in which the site occupied by the landfill acquires the former ecologicallyhe althy state.

At the same time, the reclamation of solid waste landfills can be carried out according to various technological methods of neutralization, including the following stages:

• Analysis of the landfill and determination of its level of danger.
• Consider alternative remediation options.
• Development of a project for neutralization and subsequent reclamation.

At the same time, there are several groups of technological ways to eliminate the landfill. The basic ones include the extraction and disposal of waste in another safe place and destruction directly at the landfill.