Engineering: Landfill mining for open dump rehabilitation

 

Retrieving compost from open dumps in the developing world could reduce the growing mountains of waste.

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Published in International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, researchers in India have reported how the environmental impact of landfill sites could be reduced by reusing the sites for landfill mining.
 
According to environmental engineer Kurian Joseph and colleagues at Anna University, in Chennai, India: “We in the developing world are encouraged to compost our garden and kitchen waste. However, not everyone has a compost bin and not all of us are willing or able to separate waste into compostable and non-compostable materials. In the developing world, the problems are very different. Open dumps are prevalent and have a poor environmental record.”

Rehabilitating open dumps

The team have considered the possibility of landfill mining as a viable means of rehabilitating open dumps.
 
An earlier analysis of decomposed waste from the Deonar dumpsite, in Mumbai, India, revealed that almost a third of the mass is organic matter, while moisture accounts for 14 per cent of the sieved material and inert matter the same again. Soft plastics, textiles, glass, ceramics, metals, rubber, leather, and other substances account for the remainder of the sieved mass.
 
"Landfill mining can recover recyclable materials, landfill space, and compost," explained Joseph.
 
He suggests that mining of compost from open stabilised dumpsites and the application of the bioreactor landfill concept across the developing world could make dumps much more sustainable and reduce their environmental impact.
 
The study has found that up to half of material dumped at such sites could be recovered and re-used as compost for non-edible plants or as daily cover material for landfills.

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