Landfill mining - a viable reclamation method for landfills. The case of the landfill 'Jockey Clube', Brasilia DF

摘要

In Brazil, the majority of generated waste is disposed of in open dumps without observance of any engineering principle. For more than 30 years the municipal solid waste of Brasilia DF has been dumped at the unlined facility "Jockey Clube" which is situated closed to urban areas. Leachate has not been collected or treated. Studies carried out by the Brasilia University show the existence of a ground water contamination. In the years to come the site needs to be remedied. An applicable remedial method represents landfill mining, a well-tried technology that still now has not been introduced in Brazil. The principle of this technology consists in the re-opening of landfill cells and the excavation of the old waste followed by specific treatment stages and the recovery of useful resources. This paper presents a summary of experiments carried out for describing landfill characteristics and waste composition. Furthermore the article summarises some recommendations for establishing a landfill mining project at the studied dump "Jockey Clube".