Landfill Management Flanders

1. Eddy WILLE, geologist – senior advisor
OVAM (Public Waste Agency of Flanders)
COCOON meeting,
Cordoba, 21 February 2018
Sustainable stock
management and landfills.
Introduction to Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining
(ELFM²).

2. Outline of the presentation
Introduction to Flanders and OVAM
Waste management and landfills in Flanders
Transition from Waste to Sustainable Resource Management
ELFM²: Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining
Warning :
This presentation may contain controversial innovative concepts.
Parental guidance is advised.
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3. Flanders
General information :
§ Population : 6,4 M inhabitants
§ Surface : 13.599 Km²
§ Densely populated : 472 inhab./Km²
§ Highly industrialised
§ Regional policies
§ Important harbours (nexus to Germany)
§ Limited natural resources
Flanders
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WalloniaBrussels
Capital region
“One of the virtues of Belgium is that its tininess
allows you to be anywhere else within an hour or
two. It takes a while to get used to the idea that
the whole country is effectively a suburb of
Brussels.”
From: Neither here nor there - Bill Bryson, p.78

4. Waste management and landfills in Flanders
Evolution :
Ø Waste collection & disposal
Ø Waste treatment
Ø Waste hierarchy
Ø Material management
Ø Sustainable resource
management
Ø Circular Economy
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5. Number of landfills
1985 2015
Cat 1 (Hazardous waste) 11 4
Cat 2 (Non-hazardous waste) 34 9
Cat 3 (Inert waste) 73 4
Cat. 3
Cat. 2 - industrial
Cat. 2 - MSW
Cat. 1
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Waste management and landfills in Flanders

6. 66/03/18

7. From Landfilling Waste to Enhanced Landfill
Management & Mining (the long and winding road)
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A long period of transition:
! 1981: Waste management Act. Founding of OVAM: linear economy (cradle
to grave);
! 1983: Guidelines on landfilling: final disposal (exception: monofills as
potential resource in the future);
! 1984: deadline for compliance with new guidelines (moreover 50% of
landfills closed). OVAM is permitting and controlling authority (till 1991);
! 1992: recovery project of old coal mining waste (1992-2005);
! 1995: Soil remediation Act. Obligation to investigate and remediate
contaminated sites (focus on industrial installations, storage tanks);
! 1999: Remediation of Terra Cotta-landfill (1999–2000). 160.000 ton ‘re-
mined waste’ and creating new void space for landfilling at the remediated
site;
! 2007: Brownfield Act. Specific programme for complex redevelopment
projects on contaminated sites;
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out,
of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space program
in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range
exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. J.F. Kennedy, 25
May 1961"

8. From Landfilling Waste to Enhanced Landfill
Management & Mining (the long and winding road)
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A long period of transition:
! 2008: Participation in ELFM-consortium (quadruple helix);
! 2011: Workshop on ELFM;
! 2011: Approval of Sustainable Materials management Act;
! 2012: OVAMs ELFM-research programme (2012 – 2015);
! 2015: Flemish government approved ELFM² on 16 October;
! 2017: European support on (E)LFM: New-Mine, COCOON,
RAWFill;
! 2017: specific call for Brownfield projects with landfills;
! 2017: special tax cut rules for ELFM-projects;

9. 9
OVAM's Action plan on ELFM:
– decision board of directors: dec 2011;
– programme 2012-2015;
– basic principles: Mapping-Surveying-Mining;
– reintroducing Landfills in circular economy;
– developing innovative concepts;
– supporting innovative technologies;
– study on economic and legal aspects;
ELFM – part 1
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10. ELFM - part 1
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Estimated number of landfills : 2.500
Estimated total landfilled area : approx. 90 Km²
Landfilled area per municipality

11. ELFM - part 1
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Estimated number of landfills:
Flanders : 2.500
EU : 150.000 – 500.000
(Hogland)
(100.000 municipalities in EU)
Potentially contaminated sites in EU

12. 12
ELFM – part 1
Reclaim conference - Thessaloniki 16.09.2014
# case studies at Municipal Waste Disposal sites
University Ghent tested # geophysical methods:
§ Electromagnetical induction
§ Magnetic method
§ Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)
§ Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)
§ Seismic refraction
Surveying:
detailed investigation of the individual landfill site
in order to assess the feasibility of ELFM
(detailed identification of the landfill: composition
of the landfilled waste, identification of the
geophysical conditions and -chemical
characteristics of the surroundings of the landfill
site)

13. 13
Mining: Living Labs
Testing separation technology on
excavated landfilled waste :
• First test : 5 x 100 ton;
• Current practice : 2 x 500 ton.
Figure: Separation process of the
contractors. Separation techniques
are colored yellow whereas re-
usable and rest fractions are
colored green and orange
respectively.
ELFM – part 1

14. Resource Management version 2.0
Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining (ELFM²)

15. Resource Management version 2.0
Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining (ELFM²)
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RuimteModel Vlaanderen (Spatial Analysis Model). Integrating data and trends.

16. Resource Management version 2.0
Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining (ELFM²)
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Landfill sites and the
spatial context : distance
to nature (left) and
farmland (right).
distance to
residential areas
(left) and industrial
areas (right).

17. Resource Management version 2.0
Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining (ELFM²)
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Landfill sites and the spatial context :
developing scenarios on future landuse
and its impact on landfill sites.
e.g. estimated land take by residential
areas (scenario Business as usual).

18. Resource Management version 2.0
Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining (ELFM²)
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Landfill sites and the spatial
context : mobility and
transportation: distance to first
level road network.

19. Resource Management version 2.0
Enhanced Landfill Management & Mining (ELFM²)
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ELFM² detects multiple demands
and delivers solutions by
integration.
Modeling and broad interaction
between stakeholders are basic
elements for a successfull
planning and added value.

20. Thanks for your attention
Government of Flanders
Public Waste Agency
of Flanders
Stationsstraat 110
2800 Mechelen, Belgium
T: 015 284 284
F: 015 203 275
www.ovam.be
info@ovam.be
Eddy WILLE, ewille@ovam.be
Acknowledgements :
Colleagues ELFM-division at OVAM :
Katrien Van de Wiele, Tom Behets, Peter
Nagels, Luk Umans, Michaël Van
Raemdonck