Landfill

Landfill sites are operated and managed by private contractors. The regulation of all landfill sites is the responsibility of the Environment Agency.

You can call the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506 or use the link in the Related Links section to visit their website.

You can also find out more about our approach to landfill and reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites on our Waste Strategy page.

Landfill Design

A landfill site is carefully built to make sure deposited rubbish is kept separate from the surrounding ground. The separation is needed so that the rubbish does not cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health.

The Liner System

Liners are designed to prevent waste and dirty water escaping from rubbish into soil and water outside the site.

here are pollutants in deposited rubbish that must be stopped from reaching clean water and soil. Liners are often made from clay and complex man made materials such as High Density Polyethelene. Very high standards of quality control and testing are used when liners are placed to make sure that holes or other problems are seen and dealt with before rubbish is tipped. This photograph shows a landfill site with the liner on the floor of the landfill. This shows a landfill site before waste has been tipped.

Leachate collection sytem

Leachate is the polluted liquid the landfil that is made when water falls onto the site and through the rubbish. This liquid is highly polluting and cannot be allowed to escape into the ground or surface waters near the site. Leachate is collected by a system of drains within the waste and pumped to the surface. Often the leachate is then treated before being sent to the sewer system. Modern landfill sites also include systems for detecting leaks of leachate through the liner. The leaks are then dealt with before the liquid escapes.

Gas collection system   

As the biodegradable rubbish found in landfill sites rots down, harmful gases called carbon dioxide and methane are released. Gas levels are measured around landfill sites before tipping of rubbish begins so that normal levels of gas in the area are known. When tipping of rubbish into landfill sites begins, gas levels at the edge of the site are monitored so that any changes ared detected quickly.  Monitoring of the gas levels then becomes the responsibility of the individual or company who hold the waste management licence for the site. This monitoring is very important as any escape of gas from the waste deposit area they could build up and explode if in a confined space. Asphyxiation of people entering the confined space is also a risk.  

Normally landfill sites use gas collection pipes to collect and then make use of the gas. For example they might burn the collected methane and using the heat generatd it to make generate electricity.

The landfil cap

A cap is placed on top of the rubbish across areas of the site as they become full. The cap s normally made of a thick layer of clay compacted to prevent rain from entering into the site. The cap is also there to stop the smells and gases made by the rubbish from escaping out of the top of the site. The areas with a cap are normally restored with materials like topsoil and compost. Grass seeds are then added and trees planted so that the landfill area can be fully restored                

Why do we need landfill sites

Derbyshire is recycling or composting more and more of its rubbish. However, there is still a need for places to dispose of those wastes that are not currently recycled or reused. Derbyshire's dependence on landfill sites should decline steadily in the years to come but the use of landfill will not stop completely. Overtime though, the environmental protection standards at landfill sites will continue to improve and the volume and types of waste deposited at sites will drop As a result, the polluting potential of wastes deposited in landfill sites will decline.