The term “final storage quality” was first defined twenty years ago by Baccini and Henseler and other members of a Swiss working group on landfills. In the meantime, the definition has been modified by several authors in various published papers.

In essence, final storage quality is used to imply an “environmentally sound flux/load for short, medium and long term periods”, to use one of the academic versions that I rather like for its brevity.

Which criteria should be used to determine when the “Final Storage Quality” has been reached, is being debated.

What will be the final contaminating parameter of the large number of potential pollutants in a landfill at the end of that that long awaited transition from active aftercare management to passive aftercare?

Which contaminant will be the most critical in the long term, which when it is dissipated, we can all stop concerning ourselves that what was once a landfill no longer has a potential to harm the environment which surrounds it?

Well, having I hope now wetted your curiosity, I am going to disappoint you by saying that I don’t think that academia really yet knows for certain the answer to that. Given the huge number of sanitary (lined and capped landfills) now being filled around the world as I write this, I think we should all think hard and get a little worried for our offspring.

However, two aspects of long term landfill which are of direct economic importance and about which more can be said, are:

1. The longevity of economic landfill gas production for energy production,
2. And, (for those tasked with landfill aftercare duties) it is from the point of economic aftercare, how the escape of the remaining methane to atmosphere without first oxidising it, can be achieved.

It is important to achieve “final storage quality” while consistently burning/flaring the methane in landfill gas, or in another way oxidising the methane to prevent serious climate change implications.

We can be sure that in the long-term, gas produced by landfills will be characterized by low methane content.

The methane content and rate of gas production will be so low that there will be scarcely any possibility for its use in economically-sound energy recovery procedures and yet it will still amount to a significant discharge due to the very long period of its slow discharge.

There is no escaping that the gas produced in the long tail of the “elk” requires treatment due to its global warming potential.

New low-cost technologies must be found, either to extend the phase of profitable landfill gas utilization, or methods developed to, if possible, reduce the landfill gas aftercare phase and mitigate long-term emissions.

At our sister landfill gas web site we have started to look at possible aftercare strategies with respect to dwindling landfill gas, and we have written about:

• The proportion of total Active Landfill Gas Recovery that can be economically utilised by active landfill gas extraction
• The developing concept of bio-oxidation of landfill gas instead of flaring, either in specially designed vessels or within modified landfill caps during landfill aftercare.

Click on the linked text in the above lines to read more.

The climate change phenomenon, its causes and consequences, is now generally accepted and recognised by the international scientific community, governments, the private sector, NGOs and the general population.

It requires a robust response. Solutions must be found that will mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and help to adapt to its unavoidable consequences. The complexity of the issue requires the acceptance of a common responsibility from both the public and private sector.

The waste industry occupies a unique position as a potential reducer of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As industries and countries worldwide struggle to address their carbon footprint, waste sector activities represent an opportunity for carbon reduction which has yet to be fully exploited.

The waste sector offers a portfolio of proven, practical and cost effective technologies which can contribute to GHG mitigation. When adapted and deployed according to local traditions and needs, they can help secure significant global GHG emission savings.

The transfer of sustainable technology to developing countries is crucial to reducing GHG emissions. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), introduced under the Kyoto protocol, has provided an opportunity for the waste sector to make significant advances towards this goal. However, structural and administrative improvements to the CDM registration process are needed.

Waste policies and regulations can be strong national drivers to reduce GHG emissions.

However, accurate measurement and quantification of GHG emissions is vital in order to set and monitor realistic reduction targets at all levels. Current methodologies form a valuable database for assessment of GHG emissions from waste activities, however, improvements are required to adequately represent the full life-cycle of materials and energy.

Read More ISWA: Waste and Climate Change White Paper.

He used his speech at a summit of Local Authorities and the waste industry.

Hilary Benn expounded that in principle we need to reconsider how we view and treat waste in the United Kingdom. Why do we send valuable items like aluminum and food waste to dump them in landfill when we will be able to turn them into new cans and replaceable energy?

Why use more resources than we want to in manufacturing?

The idea is that we must now work in partnership to build a zero waste nation – where we scale back the resources we use, reuse and recycle all that we can and only send to the rubbish heap the things that have no other use for.

“To do this every one of us – state, local authorities, firms and patrons – must do our bit. And we must make this moment the turning point on our journey to eliminate wasteful waste.”

In a morning trip to Earls Court, Mr Benn showed his support for an up to date BSI sustainable event standard which is meant to make sure that the events industry considers the social, business and environmental impacts of their events.

Mr Benn continued : “Using new technologies will help us to re-use things, as an example anaerobic digestion that creates power from food and farm waste. And firms can apply the technology at their fingertips to design inventive products that use less resources or contain recycled materials.

“In a decade’s time seventy five percent of household waste will either be recycled or used for energy, and over time this figure will increase further. Targeting for zero waste is how we have to think to make us where we want to be.”

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Central authority John Denham added :

“If we continue to send reusable or compostable waste to dump we are missing a major chance to generate heat and energy and missing a chance to turn that waste into money.

We will be able to save planet while keeping cash in resident’s pockets.

I have lately set out ambitions for councils to play a larger role in tackling global warming and thinking more creatively about waste is just a method to unlock that potential.

Setting out the way in which the UK can become a zero waste country where people can do the decent thing with their waste whether at work, home or on the go, Mr Benn related :

* Britain should more than halve the amount of waste going to landfills in the following ten years, and in the new year the government may consult on what re-usable and compostable items should be controlled from rubbish heap and how a ban will work.

* In 10 years time seventy five percent of household waste will either be recycled or used for energy, and over time this figure will increase even further.

* 6 new Zero Waste Places in parts of Shropshire, Dorchester, Brixton, Newham, Hoxton and Suffolk will be made to develop cutting edge concepts to cut waste in the home, workplace and community.

* A new Zero Waste Places Standard for Local Authorities will also recognize areas which are going above and beyond national waste targets while supporting them with little grants for further development.

* New research out today shows it is possible to steer 500k tons of household waste every year thru re-using it.

* Later on this month a new public campaign will be launched, directed at inspiring folk to reconsider their approach to waste by reducing and reusing the waste they create as well continuing to reuse as much as they can.

* The govt expects Local Authorities to supply a full collection service for all recyclable items by 2020. This should include paper, card, cans, glass and plastic bottles, food and packing.

We’ll encourage Local Authorities in picking up food waste to employ the technology and funding open to them to manage the power of energy from waste.

* Publication of our aims and actions for Commercial and Commercial Waste in Britain .

This can help enterprises to use resources better and inspire them to consider what they do with their waste as well as delivering advantages for the environment.

Actions cover four areas : helping business ; working with the waste management industry ; plugging the information opening ; and inspiring cutting edge approaches.

Waste management firm Viridor has expressed its disappointment at East Lothian council’s decision to reject planning permission for its Dunbar combined heat and power plant despite “strong recommendation” for approval from the council’s planning officers.

East Lothian’s planning committee yesterday (September 1) voted unanimously against the company’s proposal to build a 300,000 tonnes-a-year capacity energy-from-waste facility on land at its existing Oxwellmains landfill site, which lies 40km east of Edinburgh.

Another EfW Plant Rejected

This was despite the planning documents containing a recommendation from planning officers to approve the project subject to a number of conditions – including beginning operations within three years of approval being granted.

The spokesman said that, under new planning controls, the councillors would now have a “few weeks” to formulate a document outlining the reasons why they refused permission.

Commenting on the rejection, Steve Don, Viridor’s Scottish regional manager, said: “Despite a recognition of need, SEPA describing the proposal as the ‘best practical environmental option’ and a strong recommendation for approval from East Lothian council professional officers, Viridor is disappointed that councillors chose to refuse our application.

Proposal
Under the proposal, the Dunbar facility would have been used to process 150,000 tonnes-a-year of municipal residual waste collected from Edinburgh and East and Mid-Lothian councils, and 150,000 tonnes-a-year of commercial and industrial residual waste from the surrounding region.

Viridor had previously revised its planning application for the proposed Dunbar facility in May 2008 following a public consultation, which saw its initial 450,000 tonne-a-year capacity proposal scaled-down to “reflect local need” (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Don added: “With ambitious Scottish and European Zero Waste targets we need both increased recycling and smarter ways of managing residual waste. Whilst this decision will inevitably delay our journey to sustainability, we will be reviewing in due course.”

The spokesman for East Lothian said that he expected Viridor to appeal against the decision, which would “probably be subject to a public inquiry”. More here.

The plan identifies areas including infrastructure, technology and regulation as priorities for action. It contains 46 recommendations, including:

• Developing an economic framework to encourage use of digestate as soil conditioner and fertiliser and biogas as a fuel
• Developing new feed-in tariffs for small scale renewable energy generation and renewable heat incentives
• Finalising the standard and Quality Protocol for digestate
• Continuing to improve knowledge of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology and prioritising research and development
• Increasing awareness and understanding of AD among developers, investors, customers and those involved in planning.

The aim of the recommendations in the report is to deliver the ambitions for anaerobic digestion set out in the Defra report ‘Anaerobic Digestion – Shared Goals’ published earlier this year.

Waste and recycling minister Dan Norris welcomed the publication said the government planned to respond to the recommendations in the document later this year.

And, speaking to letsrecycle. com about the Plan, the Task Group chair Steve Lee of CIWM explained that the body was now seeking input from AD stakeholders, although he added that this would not be a formal consultation process.

He also wants to see some commitment from the sector towards the proposals. He said: “It is a draft implementation plan and we want to get it out into the real world and get a range of people to look at it and comment on it.”

The task group is open to receiving feedback on the document until 9 September and a final plan is due for publication in the autumn.

Mr Lee added: “Some actions will be easy to deliver and some will take years but if it was a quick win plan it would not be worth very much. It will help further the take-up of anaerobic digestion.”

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has set up a forum to allow for easy communication between stakeholders about the Plan and provide a platform for feedback to the task group.

Dr Richard Swannell, director of retail & organics at WRAP added: “The Draft Implementation Plan has made some key recommendations which will stimulate the rapid development of the Anaerobic Digestion industry in the UK. Source: Association for Organics Recycling.