The possibility of secondary resource recovery during waste disposal site reclamation

Abstract

Nowadays, Russian waste management policies demand the closure and elimination of dumpsites and landfills historically located in the vicinity of populated areas, with no reference to geological and hydrological conditions. Landfill mining is one of the technical solutions for old dumpsite reclamation. The unique feature of this study is the application of an integrated scenario approach in the evaluation of landfill mining projects. This approach is based on a scenario matrix that compares costs and revenues for each scenario, depending on resource and technological capabilities on the one hand, and prevailing economic conditions on the other. It was revealed that for large dumpsites the cost of landfill mining project with waste excavation and redisposal, using landfill soil material, and the recovery of secondary raw materials is several times higher than the cost of baseline dumpsite reclamation. This study shows that implementation of landfill mining projects is feasible for relatively small dumpsites with a low object base area load. The age of a landfill, among the other parameters, has an impact on the economic efficiency of landfill mining project. Ac-cording to the study the older the landfill is, the higher the content of landfill soil and the lower the amount of secondary raw materials available. As a result, the efficiency and cost of sorting technologies for soil material and secondary raw materials are key factors that determine the economic feasibility of landfill mining during waste disposal site reclamation. Within each scenario, the factors that most influence the total cost are identified.