DEME undertakes Enhanced landfill Mining project in Ghent

 

On the site of the former American chemical company Eastman in the Ghent Canal zone a large enhanced landfill mining project is being performed by environmental contractor DEME since the summer of 2018.

On the Eastman site a historic deposit is located with about 160,000 tonnes of waste, among which plastics, textile, scrap, construction and demolition waste. In this particular case, 4 ha of industrial land is reclaimed and available for the expanding activities of the adjacent company.

The waste is carefully excavated: 20% of the waste can be reused. The majority of waste is anorganic waste, contaminated soil and chemical waste that can only be landfilled again.

OVAM, the Public waste Agency of Flanders, supervises this project and connects this with a dynamic approach on use of land. Our RAWFILL partner Eddy Wille says:

"In practice, we see that the environmental and health risks of a landfill are limited due to the containment of the waste. However, such encapsulation is pretty static and is sometimes at odds with the continuous change of the environment. This leaves the risk of failure of the shielding. Think of landfills on erosion sensitive areas or on flood plains. In addition, our densely populated region constantly demands for land and landfill sites obstruct a high-quality use. We are in favour of a dynamic land use, wherein a landfilled waste deposit (partially) opens new perspectives for excavation and rehabilitation as a new industrial site. In addition to waste recycling, we regain valuable areas (from industry to living and recreation) and our drinking water reserves are better protected."

More information about this project

On the website of Susanova (in Dutch)

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