Landfill reclamation for municipal solid waste (MSW), “Volovichi”

The total area of the municipal solid waste landfill plots is 23.1 ha. The landfill was operated in two phases from 1990 to 2019, with the accumulated waste volume during its operation amounting to 2,440,000 m³.

The reclamation process includes the following work stages:

1. Construction of temporary storage ponds for collecting leachate, followed by its treatment, and construction of a leachate treatment facility. The slopes and bottom of the storage ponds are made of profiled “Gidrox” geomembrane, manufactured by “TechPolymer”, which guarantees complete waterproofing of the structure.

2. Formation of the landfill body – terracing, grading and compaction of the slopes.

3. Construction of a reinforced-soil retaining wall around the landfill body to retain the waste within the site boundaries and protect the adjacent area, as well as installation of a cut-off barrier embedded into the aquiclude using “TechPolymer Geospunt” to prevent landfill leachate from entering groundwater.

4. Construction of the landfill cover system:

The cover system consists of sandy loam soil layers and geosynthetic materials. This cover system effectively prevents atmospheric precipitation from entering the landfill body and landfill gas (biogas) from being released into the atmosphere.

• Reinforcing layer – to ensure local stability, the cover system includes a layer of “Geogrid RD-100” STO 30478650-001-2012, consisting of a reinforced grid made of high-strength composite strips welded together at their intersections.
• Stabilising layer – during the technical reclamation stage, before installation of the upper impermeable cover, an active landfill gas extraction system is constructed by installing a network of vertical and horizontal drains across the landfill surface at 3 m intervals.
• Gas drainage layer: gas collection wells for the gas extraction system are installed and connected to collector pipelines, after which the gas drainage layer “Hydromat 3D” STO 56910145-005-2011, is installed between the horizontal drains to collect and remove all biogas from the entire surface of each gas collection area.
• Waterproofing system: the cover system design includes waterproofing layers that prevent atmospheric precipitation from penetrating the landfill body:
  • “Bentotech ASL 100” bentonite mat– a waterproofing geocomposite multilayer cover based on bentonite clays.
  • “Gidrox” geosynthetic material – a high-density polyethylene waterproofing cover with a textured surface that creates additional shear resistance for subsequent reclamation layers.

5. Installation of an active gas extraction system – biogas from the vertical drains enters the horizontal drains and is then delivered to biogas treatment units through a pipeline system by compressor operation. After treatment, the gas is sent for utilisation at biogas flaring units

6. Installation of a stormwater drainage system with treatment facilities. The design provides for the collection of surface runoff followed by treatment at local treatment facilities (ЛОС).

7. Biological reclamation stage – landscaping, sowing perennial grasses and planting vegetation.