WHAT IS LANDFILL?All waste that hasn’t been recycled or used to make compost has to go somewhere. Before the opening of the Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant at our Waterbeach Waste Management Park, waste not separated for recycling or composting from Cambridgeshire households and businesses went to landfill. Landfill has been the main waste disposal method in the UK for many decades, and Donarbon operates a PPC-permitted landfill at our Waterbeach site that takes non-hazardous waste such as household and business waste. A landfill cell is specially constructed to safely take waste, and our Waterbeach site is particularly suitable for landfill as under the subsoil is a thick layer of highly impermeable clay (Kimmeridge clay) which doesn’t let liquids out. Mixed waste can produce a lot of liquid (called leachate) from things like rotting food, nappies, batteries, old tins of paint, weed killers and other chemicals, and this liquid must not get into surface or ground water. A number of other environmental requirements are placed on us, including controlling odours, litter and vermin on the landfill site and the proper aftercare of the landfill once it is complete. We work to comply with the various Landfill Regulations, which are enforced by the Environment Agency. The Kemmeridge clay is available for construction projects such as river banks, reservoirs and road building from M. Dickerson. Developing and operating a modern landfill is no longer a cheap solution; a range of plant and machinery is required to run the landfill and meet our environmental requirements, plus the Government has, since 1996, imposed a Landfill Tax on all waste sent to landfill to encourage businesses and councils to recycle more and reduce the waste they produce in the first place. Donarbon offers a wide range of Recycling Services to help local businesses, schools and councils reduce their landfill tax liability. We are able to set aside a small proportion of landfill tax paid by Donarbon and use the money to fund local community initiatives, and we have set up the Donarbon Community Fund for this purpose. |
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