[Front page] [Contents] [Previous] [Next]

Landfilling of Waste

10. Operation

10.1 Definition and Strategy
10.2 General operating conditions
10.2.1 Registration and control of waste
10.2.2 Placing the first layer of waste
10.2.3 Traffic
10.2.4 Cleaning and maintenance
10.2.5 Size of the tip face
10.2.6 Restoration
10.2.7 Emergency procedures
10.3 Landfilling methods
10.3.1 Landfill unit for mixed wastes
10.3.2 Landfill unit for mineral waste
10.3.3 Landfill unit for inert waste
10.3.4 Bioreactor landfill
10.4 Operating Instructions
10.5 Guidance for customers

10.1 Definition and Strategy

The operation of a landfill must at all times follow the guidelines stated in the environmental permit of the facility.

Basically, the operation of each unit of the landfill must be so arranged that the impact on the external environment and the occupational health and safety - notably in the form of emission of dust and noise - is reduced as much as practicable.

The operation of a landfill must be arranged in such a manner that it is adapted to the types of waste received at the landfill.

Because the checking of the waste should in itself be the most important environmental protection measure, the control of the waste received - and the control as to which landfill unit the waste is placed - must be a crucial part of the operation.

Furthermore, the operation of a landfill must always comply with rules and regulations from other authorities, including the Directorate of National Labour Inspection and the Fire Inspection.

This chapter excludes the operation of separation facilities, as this aspect is beyond the scope of this Guideline.

10.2 General Operating Conditions

Many operating conditions will be independent of the number of units in the landfill. The general operating conditions that should be taken into consideration, as a minimum, in connection with every landfill are dealt with in the following paragraphs.

10.2.1 Registration and control of waste

At every landfill the staff at the reception office must, for each load of waste, carry out a registration and control of the waste arriving at the landfill. This will ensure that the waste received and registered corresponds to the permitted type. Furthermore, the operating staff must decide in each individual case in which landfill unit the waste is to be landfilled.

The acceptance criteria for waste at landfills will appear from the environmental permit of the landfill, cf. also the guidelines listed in Chapter 4: "Waste Acceptance Procedures", and in Annex A.

Responsibility for the registration rests on the operation manager of the landfill. The legal responsibility for waste accepted at a landfill rests on the owner of the landfill.

Every load of waste arriving at the landfill must be registered (even loads that are rejected). The registration should comply with the procedure described in sect. 4.5.

The staff at the reception office must check that the load of waste qualifies for acceptance according to the procedure described in sect. 4.5.

On the basis of the details registered for the waste the staff at the reception office will assign the waste to a specific unit.

At the tip face the driver will make a visual inspection to ensure that the waste is of the permitted type for the relevant landfill unit.

Waste that has to be rejected at the reception office should follow the procedure described in sect. 4.5. Waste that has to be rejected after unloading should be removed, if possible, by the lorry driver who brought the waste. Where this is not possible, an alternative solution must be devised immediately - for example, by loading the waste into an empty container with a view to being taken to the correct treatment later on.

10.2.2 Placing the first layer of waste

The first layer of waste should be placed so that the greatest possible consideration is shown for the active environmental protection systems installed.

In practice, this implies that the first layer of waste should be placed with a thickness of about one metre, before any compaction is made. All activities should thus be carried out on top of the layer of waste first placed. The first layer of waste must not contain objects that could puncture any of the active environmental protection systems.

10.2.3 Traffic

Traffic within the landfill should be so arranged that it provides the highest degree of traffic safety and the lowest degree of nuisance - especially in the form of dust and noise - for the staff and others who are present in the landfill.

10.2.4 Cleaning and maintenance

Cleaning the areas

Paved areas and roads in the landfill should be always be kept clean from waste, dust, soil, snow, etc. This can be done by daily sweeping. When sweeping, dust nuisances must be prevented by sprinkling with clean water.

Fences, etc. must be kept clean from waste.

It is the driver’s responsibility that the vehicle is cleaned before it leaves the landfill, so that it does not give rise to the spreading of waste and dirt on public roads.

The equipment at the landfill should be maintained as directed by the supplier. Equipment necessary for the filling of waste, as well as leachate pumps, etc., must be maintained at all times or be capable of prompt replacement.

All components of the facility must be maintained. This includes embankments, ditches, collection wells, basins, oil separators, fences, vegetation, internal roads, control wells, etc.

10.2.5 Size of the tip face

Each unit of a landfill should have only one tip face. This tip face should be confined to a delimited area of the unit. The size of the tip face will depend on the quantities of waste received; however, there should be space for the unloading of only a limited number of vehicles at the same time. The number of vehicles must not exceed what the operator(s) at the tip face can oversee. In practice, this will correspond to about three simultaneously unloading vehicles for each landfilling vehicle operating on the unit.

10.2.6 Restoration

Any landscaping and restoration of a landfill must be performed continuously as the individual landfill units are being filled, cf. para. 5.5.5 and Chapter 12. This aspect of the work should therefore form a natural part of the operation of the landfill.

10.2.7 Emergency procedures

In the event that emergencies occur at the landfill, all staff must be familiar with the emergency procedures so that they can remedy the relevant situation as quickly as possible. Emergency procedures may differ from one landfill facility to another. The following procedures should be regarded as guidelines only.

Responsibility for the emergency procedures rests on the operation manager. The emergency procedures must always be specified in the operating instructions for the landfill.

Fires breaking out in waste at the landfill should be fought promptly by choking the fire. This should not be done with water but by covering the waste with large quantities of soil followed by compaction. Suitable equipment for this is a compactor which is cooled by being sprayed with water.

If unintended release of leachate to the groundwater or surface water is detected, or if this is noted in the groundwater monitoring, the inspeciton authorities must be notified immediately.

If an accident occurs at the landfill, the person(s) must be given prompt treatment, and the Directorate of National Labour Inspection shall be notified of the accident.

Breakdowns lasting a full working day or more of equipment used for the filling of waste must lead to the provision of replacement equipment. This procedure should be described in the operating instructions.

Breakdown of the leachate pump, etc., should be recorded automatically. The pumps should be repaired or replaced as soon as the breakdown is noted.

10.3 Landfilling Methods

Each landfill unit will have its own methods that must be used for the placing and filling of waste in the environmentally optimum manner.

The following contains recommendations for guidelines as to the equipment necessary for placing and filling the waste, daily covering, control at the tip face, as well as the management of special types of waste. Operating methods are described for landfill units for mixed wastes, mineral waste, and inert waste. Regarding the "bioreactor landfill" please refer to Annex C.

10.3.1 Landfill unit for mixed wastes

Equipment for filling

Compactors should be used for the filling of mixed wastes, as such waste can be highly inhomogeneous. Mixed wastes should be crushed and homogenised (in practice: mixed) before filling.

The waste should be filled in thin layers (thickness not more than 30cm) and compacted by being run over repeatedly by a compactor. The first layer should be "crushed" outside the working area before being placed in layers of about one metre, for which purpose a blade dozer may be used. Only for the subsequent layers should compaction be carried out.

The purpose of the daily covering is to prevent any escape of waste and to reduce the risk of odour and vermins.

If the waste is intensively compacted in accordance with the above, the daily covering can in most cases be dispensed with or reduced to a minimum.

Where daily covering becomes necessary, it should be laid out in layers that are no thicker than necessary to obtain the desired effect.

Material used for daily covering must be permeable so as to ensure that the precipitation is evenly distributed in the waste and, thereby, ensure that the leaching from the waste is comparatively even. Dust may be suppressed by sprinkling the waste with clean water.

The waste should be unloaded at the top of the tip face. This enables the driver to assess the composition of the waste upon unloading. During filling it is also possible for the driver to observe any unwanted fractions in the mixed load of waste. Unwanted fractions of waste should be removed.

10.3.2 Landfill unit for mineral waste

Equipment for filling

Blade dozers or wheel loaders may be used for the filling of inorganic waste if it consists of fractions that require no crushing. If the waste does require crushing, a compactor may be necessary. To achieve satisfactory filling of mineral waste a roller may be used.

Waste should be filled in layers with a thickness of not more than 30cm. To minimise subsequent settlement of the waste the filling should be carried out by running repeatedly over the waste with a roller or other heavy equipment. The first layer of waste should be placed in layers of about one metre.

Daily covering is not considered necessary for the types of waste likely to arrive in this type of unit. Dust may be suppressed by sprinkling the waste with clean water.

Waste should be unloaded at the top of the tip face. This enables the driver to assess the composition of the waste upon unloading. During filling it is also possible for the driver to observe any unwanted fractions in the waste. Unwanted fractions should be removed.

10.3.3 Landfill unit for inert waste

Equipment for filling

Compactors and/or blade dozers should be used for the filling of inert waste. The decision must be based on the composition of the waste. A compactor should be used if the waste requires crushing and homogenisation (in practice: mixing) before filling.

The waste should be filled in layers with a thickness of not more than 30cm. The filling should be carried out by repeatedly running over the waste.

Daily covering is not considered necessary for the types of waste likely to arrive in this type of unit. Dust may be suppressed by sprinkling the waste with clean water.

The waste should be unloaded at the top of the tip face. This enables the driver to assess the composition of the waste upon unloading. During filling it is also possible for the driver to observe any unwanted fractions in a mixed load of waste. Unwanted fractions should be removed.

10.3.4 Bioreactor landfill

A bioreactor landfill must be established where there may still be a need to landfill domestic waste and other waste with a high organic content. Annex C contains a more detailed description of a bioreactor landfill.

10.4 Operating Instructions

For every landfill there must be operating instructions. The purpose of the operating instructions is to clarify responsibility and competence in connection with the management of the landfill. Also, the operating instructions must lay down guidelines for the work routines applying to the landfill so that the operation can meet the requirements specified in the environmental permit for the landfill.

As a minimum, the operating instructions should contain the following parts:

	Ownership;
	important addresses and telephone numbers;
	holders of the operating instructions who are always in possession of the most recent version;
	description of the layout with its breakdown into landfill units and the levels of active and passive environmental protection systems;
	the machinery of the landfill;
	waste acceptance criteria;
	procedures for waste rejection;
	an operating description of each activity for which the landfill has been approved. The operating description should include at least:

- The landfilling activities, including the thickness of layers when filling, and - where daily covering is deemed necessary - materials likely to be used for that.
- The treatment activities, including how and which equipment is to be used.
- Emergency procedures, such as in connection with fires, industrial accidents, machinery breakdowns, etc.
- Mitigation procedures for nuisances such as dust, odour, vermins, etc.

	Maintenance regulations for each layout component of the landfill, including the maintenance of sewer systems for leachate, wastewater and surface water;
	control procedures pursuant to the control conditions specified in the environmental permit;
	standards for the drawing of samples in connection with the control procedures; and
	a listing of standards for the reporting of control procedures to ensure that the reporting is uniform every year.

The operating instructions should be arranged in such a manner that they can be revised continuously as and when there are changes at the landfill. Each page of the operating instructions should therefore be laid out so that it is always possible to see the date of the most recent revision of each page. Furthermore, the table of contents should always contain the newest revisions with the dates of the most recently revised pages.

Because, pursuant to Statutory Order of the Ministry of Labour No. 1182 of December 18, 1992, on the Execution of the Work, it is up to the employer to make sure that employees receive proper instructions, occupational health and safety can appropriately be incorporated into the operating instructions.

10.5 Guidance for Customers

For the information of suppliers of waste to the landfill, signboards should be erected outside the landfill with details of ownership, operating hours, the units available at the landfill, and to whom the facility is open.

The landfill should also draw up a manual for suppliers of waste specifying the acceptance criteria applying to the reception of waste, as well as the rejection procedures that are in force.