On 20 December, in honour of the completion of the reclamation of the Left-Bank municipal landfill in Magnitogorsk, a working delegation visited the site. Over 5 million tonnes of waste accumulated at the Magnitogorsk landfill, covering an area of more than 59 hectares, during its 65 years of operation. Reclamation work began in May 2023 as part of the federal Clean Air project under the national Ecology project.
At this site, one of the largest reclamation projects in the Chelyabinsk Region, a comprehensive set of best available technologies was used to eliminate environmental damage. Complex engineering and technical works were also carried out:
- The landfill body was formed;
- A multilayer protective screen made of geosynthetic materials was constructed, with a total area of more than 301 thousand m2;
- A degassing system was installed and flare units for biogas utilisation were commissioned (capacity: 1,000 m3/hour);
- The leachate treatment plant was commissioned and adjusted.
The result of the leachate treatment plant's operation will be technically clean water (permeate), which will be accumulated in a tank made of «BlokTech» modules.
This water can be used for the landfill's needs, such as watering plants and dust suppression on roads, or discharged into natural water bodies. According to specialists' estimates, the landfill body contains approximately 50 thousand m3 of leachate. These volumes will be fully treated within eight to ten years.
The Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region, Alexey Teksler, noted:
«The completion of the reclamation of the Magnitogorsk landfill is the largest environmental project in the southern part of the region. In Chelyabinsk, grass turns green in summer on the site of the former municipal landfill, and soon the same will be true in Magnitogorsk. I highly value the results of our joint work with Rosatom in this area. The reclamation of the landfills has not only improved the situation in the two largest cities of the region, but has also set a new direction for the development of urban spaces on the sites of former waste landfills».
Thanks to the reclamation of the Magnitogorsk landfill, atmospheric emissions have already been reduced by 17,000 tonnes per year, significantly improving the lives of local residents.
Photo from the website of the Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region
