On-site visit: Designing the pilot unit

In May, our team of experts from the School of Mining Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens took a trip to Polygyros, in order to visit the landfill and collect information which was necessary for the elaboration of the design of the landfill mining process and the treatment of the excavated wastes.

 

Through discussions with the staff of HELECTOR S.A. and also on-site investigation, the following elements of the landfill were examined:

 

• the geometry of the cell,

• the age of the landfilled waste

• the space where the pilot unit will be installed,

• the available machinery and manpower and

• the typical composition of the waste.

 

Also, many photographs of the site were taken to help with the design of the exploitation plan. The finalisation of the design of the LFM process and the pilot demonstration unit is expected during the next months.

 

Dissemination Trip to Cyprus

Within the framework of the project's dissemination actions, the LIFE reclaim team also travelled to Cyprus, where we met with the representatives of the Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for the management of municipal waste in the country. We gave them a small presentation about the project and we were able to exchange views on the LFM method and its uses. They also informed us about the strategies that the Department of Municipal Solid Waste Management is following, as well as the state of the operating and closed landfill sites of the country, in order to use this data in the Landfill Inventory that we are creating.

 

We also were able to visit the Integrated Waste Management Facility of Larnaca-Famagusta at Koshi, which is one of the most modern units in the country. There, we had a discussion about the LIFE reclaim project and we took a tour around the modern facilities of the MBT plant and the sanitary landfill. 

 

Athens 2014 Sustainable Solid Waste Management

On the 13th of June, 2014, the LIFE reclaim team also participated in the Athens 2014 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Solid Waste Management. We enjoyed the scientific programme of the congress (you can find more information about it here or and download the agenda here) and we had a chance to network with people from around the world who were interested in Landfill Mining. We also gave a presentation about the LIFE reclaim project, the first results from its early actions and its progress so far. If you are interested, you can download this presentation here.

 

First National Conference on Landfill Mining

Planning for our first conference has already started! The 1st National Conference on Landfill Mining is going to take place in September 2014, at the town of Polygyros, in Chalkidiki, Greece. We are accepting abstracts at the e-mail life@reclaim.gr. More information on the organisation, the venue and dates will follow!