In recent years, the number of operating landfills in the Moscow Region has begun to decrease, but stopping waste deliveries to these sites is not enough — without proper management, they pose a threat to residents of nearby settlements and the environment. Landfill reclamation is required to help return the land to economic use over time and eliminate harmful landfill gases and leachate. By the end of 2020, 5 landfills in the Moscow Region were to be reclaimed.
The reclamation process is developed separately for each municipal solid waste landfill, as each site has unique physical, geographical and technogenic conditions. However, different landfills may face similar challenges that require specific, unique solutions. For example, the Tsaryovo and Dolgoprudny landfills in the Moscow Region contain a large volume of waste concentrated in a relatively small area, making the waste mound high, with steep slopes. Therefore, one of the main tasks was to flatten the terrain by constructing a complex structure — a reinforced-soil retaining wall.
The reinforced-soil wall is part of the design solutions for reforming the body of the reclaimed landfill and is constructed along its perimeter using geosynthetic materials manufactured by TechPolymer Group.
A crushed-stone layer is placed beneath the retaining wall structure and reinforced with an RD planar geogrid made of high-strength composite strips thermally bonded to geotextile.
The load-bearing structure of the reinforced-soil retaining wall consists of layers of compacted sand-and-gravel mixture, between which rolls of the “Stabigrunt” geotextile fabric are installed for reinforcement.
The facing layer of the retaining wall may be filled with crushed stone or covered with the biodegradable “Biomat” material to promote the rapid growth of perennial grasses. These materials are reinforced with metal meshes anchored into the reinforced soil of the load-bearing structure. The facing layer serves a decorative function and does not carry any loads.
- “Stabigrunt” — reinforced, stabilised fabric made of polyester threads with enhanced strength characteristics.
- RD geogrid — a planar geogrid made of high-strength composite strips welded together at their intersections.
- “Biomat” — a biodegradable material consisting of two organic fabrics with perennial grass seeds and a nutrient mixture between them, joined together using a needlepunching process.
Completion of the reclamation of the Dolgoprudny municipal solid waste landfill was planned for December 2020. As of the end of April 2020, installation of the reinforced-soil retaining wall materials was 80% complete, with completion of its construction scheduled for August 2020.
The Tsaryovo landfill was scheduled for completion in December 2020. The reinforced-soil wall was 40% complete, and installation of the geomaterials was scheduled to be completed in September 2020.
The progress of reclamation works at the above-mentioned municipal solid waste landfills can be seen in our videos.
