Cambridgeshire-based waste management firm Mick George Ltd has secured approval for an increase in annual throughput at its landfill near Ely, from 50,000 tonnes to 200,000 tonnes per annum.
The approval comes after the Environment Agency originally expressed concerns over the company’s drainage plans, with Mick George consequently reinstating a drainage blanket at the site. The determination covers asbestos and stable hazardous landfill cells at the Witcham Meadlands landfill site a few miles north-west of Ely.
As well as granting the tonnage increase, the amended permit conditions will see a reduction in annual inert waste tonnages from 200,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes.
Cells
The landfill site is close to Ely
Granting the permit variation for Witcham Meadlands, the Environment Agency has authorised the deepening of the asbestos and stable non-reactive hazardous waste cells by up to 10m in depth. And, the regulator has also allowed Mick George to add nine waste codes for materials that can be inputted to the landfill.
The landfill is on a former sand and gravel quarry and covers 44 hectares with a void space of 1.3 million cu m.
Approval for the permit variation comes after the Environment Agency had raised concerns about plans by the company’s original company to not have a drainage blanket for leachate because of the nature of the wastes to be deposited.
Instead Mick George had, explained the Agency, “proposed to use the basal slope as a leachate collection system and install a leachate monitoring chamber within each phase of landfilling to check that the quality of leachate was as expected”.
Accurate
Asbestos services are included in Mick George’s environmental division launched earlier this year
But, the regulator expressed concern that landfills of this type should have a drainage layer to ensure leachate accumulate was kept to a minimum and that what was proposed would not “enable accurate calculation of the water balance, particularly considering the landfill is sub-water table and as such in the very long term groundwater flow into the landfill will contribute to leachate production”.
In a meeting with the company, the Agency asked for revised proposals and the company agreed to reinstate a leachate drainage blanket.
The development at Witcham Meadlands is part of Mick George’s work to expand its asbestos and hazardous waste work.
A spokesman for the company said: “Asbestos waste is one of the specialist and newer areas that we are involved. We can now supply a full service from survey work at the beginning of a project through to safe disposal.”
Earlier this year, Mick George confirmed the launch of its environmental division which includes the asbestos service.
The post Drainage change secures asbestos landfill for Mick George appeared first on letsrecycle.com.
Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
