US EPA

9641463 

Meetings & Symposia 

Paper 

Landfill mining potential of legacy waste and its associated challenges 

Singh, A; Chandel, M 

2020 

English 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351096218_Landfill_Mining_Potential_of_Legacy_Waste_and_its_Associated_Challenges
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We characterize dumped waste from Deonar, dumpsite located in Mumbai, India, to identify different recovery routes for this legacy waste. The study also ascertains possible challenges related to landfill mining in India. The waste characteristics for the entire dumpsite were estimated by conducting sampling using a stratified random sampling design. The dumpsite was divided into three strata and a total of 32 samples were collected. Manual sieving into different particle size categories (>20 mm, 20–4 mm and <4 mm) and further sorting into different streams (paper/cardboard, plastic, textile, wood, metal and glass) of the excavated waste was carried out. The results show that the fine fraction (<4 mm) was accounted highest in the dumpsite. The waste older than 20 years had ~57% fine fraction while the average was 44.4% in the dumpsite. The plastic fraction was ~11.4% and showed a decreasing trend with age of the waste. Since plastic is non-biodegradable in nature, the finding suggests that the consumption of plastic has increased in recent decades. Furthermore, metal and glass contents were very low in the dumpsite. The recyclable fraction (plastic, metal and glass) in the dumpsite was of poor quality suggesting recycling challenges. The combustible fraction was found to be ~23% and hence could be used to prepare refuse-derived fuel. Also, we looked at the strengths and limitations of landfill mining for Indian dumps. The strength of landfill mining lies within the goal of reaching a circular economy while putting a check on environmental pollution caused due to old dumpsites. The landfill mining projects can create revenue from recovered fractions and generate employment. However, the market for the recovered fraction needs to be identified. Most of the international studies cited that the metal fraction can generate great revenue, which is lacking in case of Indian dumpsites. 

Geoenvironment & Sustainability 

Delhi, India 

2020