8/13/2019 Poster LIFE & Landfill

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/poster-life-landfill 1/1

LIFE, the EU funding tool for the EnvironmentSince 1992, LIFE has contributed to the implementation, updating and development of EU envi-

ronmental policy and legislation by co-nancing pilot or demonstration projects with European

added value. In the waste sector, LIFE has supported initiatives that reduce the negative impact of

waste on the environment and public health and ensure the most ecient use of natural resources.

LIFE & waste andlandll management

The EUROPEAN WEEK OF WASTEREDUCTION (EWWR) project aimed to reduce

the amount of municipal waste generated in Europe

through the involvement of citizens, authorities, busi-

nesses and other stakeholders in awareness-raising

programmes.

Stakeholders were invited to submit proposals for

waste-reduction activities in one of ve categories –

Administration/public authority, Association/NGO, Busi-

ness/industry, Educational organisations, and others

(e.g. hospitals, retirement homes, cultural centres). The

proposals were assessed and monitored by the EWWR

organisers, who identied best practices in each of the

ve categories, recognised through an award scheme.

The project also published a guide to 45 good practice

activities developed during the EWWR, covering four

topics:

• The ght against garden and kitchen waste.

• A general campaign on waste reduction and sustain-

able prevention/consumption.• Paper and packaging.

• Reuse and preparing for reuse.

These good practices were selected from the

14 053 activities that took place during the

course of the project. The success of the initia-

tive – which grew from 2 672 activities in 2009 to

7 035 activities in 2011 – encouraged the organisers

to continue with the EWWR as a permanent annual

event aer the end of LIFE funding. In 2011, more than

2 million European citizens in a total of 20 countries

took part in the EWWR.

Website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/ 

index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=3317 

CONWASTE demonstrated a methodology for

reducing the amount of primary materials needed to

remediate former industrial landll sites, by develop-

ing a means of reusing waste of low organic content

instead. Central to this was the development of a soil

remediation system, which consisted of two layers: a

sealing layer and a cultivation layer.

The aim of the project was to scale up successful lab

tests of this system and demonstrate its eective-

ness at industrial-scale. To this end, the beneciary

built a plant to convert contaminated soil into suitable

mixtures for use at ex-landlls.

The sealing layer is made of mineral material from

soil remediation and debris from the concrete indus-

try, industrial ashes and sewage sludge. This is treat-

ed using a process known as ‘diagnetic inertisation’, to

lock in the pollutants. The cultivation layer is made of

mineral materials from soil remediation, debris and

sewage sludge.

Benets of the mixtures developed by CONWASTE

include:

• Avoiding pollutant migration thanks to the forma-

tion of minerals such as ettringite, which helps to x

heavy metals.

• Ligation of atmospheric CO2 of approximately 0.25 t/t.

• Very low hydraulic conductivity in the sealing layer,

and high water storage capacity (about 20% vol-

ume) in the cultivation layer.

• High organic content of the cultivation layer (good

for cultivating energy crops).

Website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/ 

index.cfm?fuseaction=home.createPage&s_ref=LIFE06%20 

ENV/D/000488&area=2&yr=2006&n_proj_id=3093&cd=136396&coken=cf08e43e2395bc26-9CFB8288-9935-7D83-D78CB23BDE269874&mode=print&menu=false

BALKWASTE addressed the low implementa-

tion of alternatives to landlling in the Balkan Mem-

ber States. This was done by promoting and imple-

menting the EU strategy and policy on solid waste

management and establishing cooperation and

knowledge exchange among the Balkan Countries.

The two most important actions implemented by the

project were the development of a waste Decision

Support System (DSS) for decision-makers and the

establishment of a waste network for the Balkan

Region. The DSS is soware that assists decision-

makers by providing them with technical support

and tailor-made solutions for developing integrated

and ecient waste management plans.

The Waste Balkan Network consists of a coopera-

tion and knowledge transfer platform on waste

management among the stakeholders of the four

participating countries: Romania, Greece, Slovenia

and Bulgaria. Today, the network involves more than

880 stakeholders, including public authorities, sup-

pliers, universities, NGOs, service providers, landll

sites and waste treatment plants. This network also

includes a monitoring platform that enables com-

parison of the performance and evolution of waste

management in the participating nations.

Other aspects of the project included an evaluation of

the waste management status in the Balkan Region;

identication of waste composition through labora-

tory analyses; and the development of a technical

database comprising waste treatment technologies.

Website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/ 

index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=3253

The GHERL project demonstrated an innovative

technology for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from

landll gas in a nal stable and solid form. Solid

waste disposal on land accounts for some 2.4% of

total EU greenhouse gas emissions.

The project developed a pilot plant to demonstrate

the new technology. This consisted of a packed col-

umn in which an aqueous solution of potassium

hydroxide (KOH) comes into contact with the CO2 

contained in the landll gas. The potassium hydrox-

ide and carbon dioxide react, forming potassium

carbonate (K2CO

3), which can be recovered in solid

form. This methodology was found to be ecient in

capturing 96.7% of the CO2 present in the landll

gas, representing a reduction of 8-10% Nm3.

The project also carried out a comprehensive evalu-

ation of the market potential of the process. This

concluded that:

• The application of the process does not require the

development of special devices since most of the

required components are fairly market standard.

• The GHERL process can be used for any source of

CO2, such as biogas from anaerobic digestion.

• The technology could be used for the production

and sale of K2CO

3, a product that has applications

in a number of sectors, including in the chemical in-

dustry. Substituting the new method for traditional

means of producing K2CO

3 will reduce the amount

of methane needed as a primary fuel, while rev-

enue for sales of K2CO

3 could cover investment and

running costs.

Website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/ index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=2881

 

RAISING PUBLICAWARENESS

REDUCINGGHG EMISSIONS

ALTERNATIVESTO LANDFILLING

RESTORING LANDFILLS

   P   h  o   t  o  :   L   I   F   E   0   7   I   N   F   /   F   /   0   0   0   1   8   5

   P   h  o   t  o  :  w   i   k   i  m  e   d   i  a .  o  r  g

   P   h  o   t  o  :   L   I   F   E   0   6   E   N   V   /   D   /   0   0   0   4   8   8

   P   h  o   t  o  :   L   I   F   E   0   7   E   N   V   /   R   O   /   0   0   0   6   8   6

Visit the LIFE website:

www.ec.europa.eu/life

Environment