Landfill construction

Modern landfill sites are engineered to a very high specification to ensure that the materials placed within them will not endanger public health or the environment.

Landfill sites are individually designed to take into account the geology of an area, the flow and direction of local watercourses, the level of the water table and the appearance of the existing physical environment.

Welbeck is a phased operation consisting of 15 ‘cells´.  Each cell is engineered to the highest modern standards with sophisticated landfill gas and leachate management systems.  These systems are installed to ensure that all waste is safely contained within the landfill and that the surrounding environment is fully protected.

Key to the design of any landfill is this liner system.  Before waste can be deposited in a new cell, the liner has to be constructed in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Agency.  The liners are installed under the supervision of independent consultants who have rigorously tested the liner´s permeability.  No waste is deposited in any phase of a landfill until a liner is installed, tested and approved.

In addition, a layer of gravel or other suitable material is generally placed on top of the liner as a protective measure - to ensure that the liner is not damaged when waste is placed on it - and for drainage purposes.

The liner seals the landfill and ensures that any landfill gas or leachate (water passing through the waste) is safely retained and managed.  At Welbeck, landfill gas will ultimately be recovered and used to generate electricity, which will be supplied to the national grid.

As each cell is completed it is capped with a plastic liner, which effectively seals the waste in the landfill.  Further layers of soil are then added to provide good growing conditions for planted trees, hedgerows and meadows to prosper.