Aug 19, 2019

Solid Waste Management

While many have been enjoying their summer holidays, XCG has been busy preparing various Design, Operations and Closure Plans for our clients in order to meet the current (2016) British Columbia Ministry of Environment (MOE) Landfill Criteria for Municipal Solid Waste. These plans are required to be reviewed and updated at least once every five years to demonstrate that the facility is planned, designed, constructed, operated, monitored, and eventually closed in accordance with the Landfill Criteria.

Here are three recent projects we have worked on.

Revelstoke Landfill, BC

The Revelstoke Landfill is owned and operated by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District. The site, which is contained over two properties, includes a municipal solid waste landfill, transfer station, composting area, marshalling areas, recycling area, weigh scale, and operational infrastructure. The landfill accepts approximately 7,000 tonnes of waste annually and serves the municipality of Revelstoke, surrounding areas, and Electoral Area B. XCG completed an updated Design, Operations and Closure Plan for the landfill in 2018.

The plan XCG presented included a detailed landfill filling plan, surface water management infrastructure, landfill gas management plan, access roads, soil management, and a closure plan (including final contours, cover design and post closure plan). Landfill liability, closure and post-closure funding assessments were also completed as part of the project. The Phase 1 Closure Design Brief provided the rationale for the proposed final cover and closure works, design drawings and details, closure cost estimates, and timelines. The conceptual design included a geomembrane-based side-slope final cover, perimeter road, and stormwater management infrastructure. XCG also completed a Conformance Review for the site which took into account the landfill upgrades as part of this Design, Operations and Closure Plan and specified the need for any further upgrades.

Greater Vernon Recycling and Disposal Facility, BC

The Greater Vernon Recycling and Disposal Facility is an active sanitary landfill of 18 hectares within an overall property of approximately 63 hectares. The site has a fill rate of 29,000 tonnes per year and began accepting waste in 1980. XCG completed an updated Design, Operations and Closure Plan in 2017 in support of the expansion of the facility. The plan was updated to meet the 2016 Landfill Criteria and included a detailed filling plan including access roads, landfill gas assessment, landfill gas system sequencing, leachate collection infrastructure, soil management, and a progressive closure plan.

XCG also completed a Data Gap Assessment for the site to assess gaps in information that was needed to complete the Design, Operations and Closure Plan and to subsequently obtain approval for landfilling in the proposed expansion area.

Sechelt Landfill, BC

The Sechelt Landfill is a natural attenuation landfill that has been in operation since 1971. The site includes a municipal solid waste landfill, public drop off area, public weigh scales, and operational infrastructure. The landfill accepts approximately 13,000 tonnes of waste annually and serves the District of Sechelt, Town of Gibsons, Sechelt Indian Government District, and all of the electoral areas in the Sunshine Coast Regional District. In 2017, XCG completed an updated Design, Operations and Closure Plan to meet the requirements of the Operational Certificate for the site, as well as the 2016 Landfill Criteria. This plan included fill planning, leachate management, surface water management, landfill gas management, an airspace estimate, and a landfill life assessment, as well as closure and post-closure planning along with associated costing.