Wapseys Wood Landfill Development
Leachate Treatment Plant
We have completed the construction of our on-site leachate treatment plant. Previously, the liquid that is extracted from landfill cells was exported by road tankers to off-site treatment facilities. The added benefit of having an onsite plant is that it reduces overall traffic movements. Treated leachate (which is clean enough to be treated as foul sewage) is now being discharged directly into the sewerage system.
Landfilling and Restoration Works
Landfilling continues to take place in the remaining engineered area of the site, with completion due in the summer of 2017. Approximately 2.5ha of the current landfilling area will be capped in the autumn of this year. All previously filled landfill cells have been capped. When the area we are currently filling is completed, it will be capped and restored with the placement of subsoil and topsoil layers. It is anticipated that restoration works will be completed by the end of 2017. Footpaths/bridleways that were diverted during the operational phase of the site will then be reinstated. The restoration scheme for the site includes a mix of land for grazing and woodland.
Planning Application: Resource Recovery Centre
So that the landfill can meet its closure deadline of 31st December 2017, Veolia is proposing to develop a Resource Recovery Centre. This will recycle and treat the waste that would otherwise have been sent to the existing landfill operation.
Part of the Resource Recovery Centre is a Waste Recovery Facility. This building will receive waste, then treat it in three different ways: recycling will be bulked and transferred offsite for processing; residual waste will be converted by shredding, baling and wrapping it to make refuse derived fuel for onward transfer offsite; and food or liquid waste will be treated by a new anaerobic digestion plant.
The site already recycles inert (construction and demolition) waste. This operation will continue as part of the new proposals.
The anaerobic digestion process converts up to 60% of the material into gas. This can then be burnt to produce electricity and/or heat to be released into the grid. The residue known as digestate is inert and can be used as a soil improver or landfill cover or further treated to be turned into compost.
The new buildings will be sited in an area of the landfill that is not being infilled. This will mean they will be screened by the surrounding restored landfill. The new buildings will have a number of highly effective mitigation measures to reduce the sources of odour within the proposed site. Waste will also be delivered to the site within enclosed vehicles and enter the building before unloading.
The development will make use of the existing infrastructure (such as the entrance to the site), so nothing needs to be built in addition to what is already there. It is also anticipated that there will be significantly reduced vehicle movements in comparison to current levels.
Veolia has submitted a planning application to Buckinghamshire County Council which is currently being determined. The deadline for the application to be determined is the October 2016.