Landfill Compactors – Essential Landfill Plant Features and Costs

Enhancing Landfill Compactors: Overcoming Challenges and Optimizing Performance

Introduction

Early landfill compactors faced several challenges, which have since been addressed through technological advancements. In this comprehensive exploration of landfill compactors, we will delve into the reported issues with early models, discuss the essential features of modern compactors, and consider various factors that influence the choice of landfill mobile plant.

Reported Issues with Early Landfill Compactors

In the early days of landfill compactors, two primary issues were frequently reported.

First, these compactors had a tendency for their wheels to pick up refuse, especially in wet weather conditions. Second, instability was a concern due to their high centre of gravity.

The configuration of the track and wheel spikes played a crucial role in addressing these issues.

However, it was discovered that tipping waste in shallower layers often helped overcome these difficulties.

Modern Landfill Compactors

Modern landfill compactors have come a long way in terms of design and performance. They are equipped with steel wheels featuring spikes, lugs, or bars for both compression and traction. The careful configuration of these track and wheel spikes is essential.

While they operate in a very hostile environment perched on waste, and exposed to the waste, they may not match the performance of civil engineering earthworks equipment, but they offer reliable waste density when operated correctly.

They hugely raise efficiency in landfill operations when compared with the previous use of tracked vehicles (bulldozers) until they were invented back in the 1970s.

Additional Equipment and Considerations

In landfill operations, you might encounter other equipment such as scrapers, towed or independently powered, which are used for various tasks like stripping, storing, and replacing topsoil and subsoil.

Mechanical diggers and trenching equipment are also common for on-site work.

Furthermore, when considering the purchase of landfill compactors or bulldozers for refuse handling, several key features must be taken into account.

These include operator protection with cabs equipped with roll bars, specialized blades for refuse handling, four-wheeled drive for wheeled vehicles, and self-cleaning wheels or drums on compactors to handle the material efficiently.

Factors Influencing Landfill Mobile Plant Selection

The choice of landfill mobile plant depends on several factors, including the type and quantity of waste, specific machinery requirements, the treatment status of the delivered material, and the availability of on-site materials for cover. Wheeled vehicles continue to be popular choices due to their versatility and effectiveness.

Certain features are essential when buying either vehicle;

(i) they should have cabs with roll-bars for the protection and comfort of the operator;

(ii) if a bulldozer is purchased, the blade should be designed for handling refuse it should be higher and wider, and should stand off from the vehicle further than is normal;

(iii) a cutting-wheeled vehicle (compactor) should be equipped with four-wheeled drive;

(iv) the fan should blow out from the engine instead of drawing air in, in order to reduce the risk of choking the radiator with refuse;

(v) the wheels or drums of a compactor should be self cleaning and suitable to deal with the material being imported.

The choice of the, general-purpose landfill mobile plant, depends on several factors; quantities and types of wastes;

• the activities required of the machinery;
• whether the material delivered to the site has been previously treated;
• location and nature of any materials on site which might be used for side or top cover.

Scrapers, both towed and independently powered, are seldom seen on landfills after initial development of the bases of landfills. They are used to strip, store and replace top and subsoil, and various forms of civil engineering earthworks equipment will clearly be used for such work including mechanical diggers and trenching equipment are used on site works.

Cost Considerations and Maintenance

Cost is a critical factor when purchasing landfill mobile plant. For tracked vehicles, track maintenance costs can be high due to the abrasive nature of the materials they operate on.

However, proactive vehicle replacement can help reduce costs and improve overall efficiency. Wheeled vehicles, while faster, may not match the high-precision levelling capabilities of tracked counterparts.

When selecting a vehicle for controlled tip work, operational expenses must be considered, as well as the level of work that the vehicle is capable of performing. Track maintenance costs for tracked vehicles can be high due to the abrasive nature of the material in which the tracks run, but costs can be reduced by changing the vehicle before major repairs are required and when the exchange rate is favourable.

The disadvantage of punctures has been overcome to some extent in wheeled vehicles, and is completely eliminated for steel-cutting wheel-equipped compactors; however, while they may be faster, they are not capable of the high levelling standards of the tracked vehicle.