Tag: Landfill

What are Landfill? Rising frequency of Landfill Fires

Article

July 16, 2022
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4 min
1 year
648 words

Tagged dumping ground, fires, Landfill, Landfill fires, spontaneous fires

What are Landfill? Rising frequency of Landfill Fires

Landfill management includes prohibiting burning and smoldering waste from entering the landfill through thorough inspection of incoming waste. Prohibiting smoking on-site and having good security measures to prevent suspicious fires is also key.

Keywords:- Landfill fires, dumping ground, landfill, spontaneous fires, fires

Abstract

The massive fire that broke out at the Bhalswa landfill site in Delhi on April 26 has not been completely dozed off yet. The residents, staying near the landfill have informed the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) that poisonous fumes are entering their homes which are causing breathing problems. Three incidents of fire have been reported this year at east Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill sit –

Bhalswa landfill fire: The massive fire that broke out at the Bhalswa landfill began on April 26 evening.
Perungudi dump yard fire: A major fire broke out at Perungudi dump (Chennai) on April 27 afternoon.
Dadumajra landfill fire: A fire also broke out at Chandigarh’s Dadumajra dumping ground on April 5. Landfills are the largest source of methane emissions which are highly flammable in nature and play a large role in the ignition of landfill fires. The decomposition of waste is largely anaerobic in a landfill, which results in the production of large quantities of methane and carbon dioxide. Fires are also a result of human factors. Waste pickers who scavenge the waste may inadvertently start a fire by smoking in the landfill.

Introduction

A massive fire broke out at the Bhalswa landfill site in north Delhi on Tuesday evening, the fourth such largescale fire in Delhi’s landfill site over the last month. The other three fires were reported from east Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill site.

Firefighters struggled to douse a fire at the Bhalswa landfill site in north Delhi for the fourth straight day on Friday. Several videos showed the blaze churning out dense plumes of smoke and turning the sky hazy grey.

A second senior north municipal corporation official said when temperatures rise, the methane generated by decaying organic matter, basically from the legacy waste at the landfill sites, also increases.

“Methane gas spontaneously ignites under such weather conditions. It is a natural phenomenon. Such a major fire at Bhalswa has not occurred lately and we will look into the exact cause once the situation is under control”.

Local residents said that the thick smoke was choking them.”Currently, four fire tenders are working at the site. It will take at least one more day to douse the fire.

The residents have started complaining of sore throat, itchy eyes as well as breathing problems.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The Delhi government on Thursday imposed a fine of ₹50 lakh on the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in connection with the massive fire that broke out at the Bhalswa landfill site on Tuesday.

What are landfills?

Landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest as well as most common form of waste disposal. Although the systematic burial of the waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s.

Some landfill sites are used for waste management purposes, such as temporary storage, consolidation and transfer, or for various stages of processing waste material, such as sorting, treatment, or recycling. Unless they are stabilized, landfills may undergo severe shaking or soil liquefaction of the ground during an earthquake. Once full the area over a landfill site may be reclaimed for other uses.

Why do landfill fires occur?

The organic waste in the landfill decays, resulting in a build-up of highly combustible methane gas. “With high temperatures, this spontaneous combustion will take place.

How do we prevent landfill fires?

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are most common methods to reduce landfill waste.

Written By – Ashi Dubey

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Work initiated at WTE Plant beside Ghazipur landfill site

News

July 1, 2022
/ Leave a Comment on Work initiated at WTE Plant beside Ghazipur landfill site

3 min
2 years
454 words

Tagged Landfill, Waste, Waste to Energy, WTE Plant

Work initiated at WTE Plant beside Ghazipur landfill site

WTE Plant burn municipal solid waste often known as garbage or trash. To produce steam in a boiler that is used to generate electricity.

Delhi has three waste-to-energy plants in Ghazipur, Narela and Okhla. The plant in Ghazipur which was not operational for 6 months due to maintenance. Commenced its work on Wednesday, May 5.

The Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Saxena said that the WTE Plant beside the Ghazipur landfill site has become operational.

He tweeted saying that “Of the 2600 MTs of garbage generated daily in East Delhi, the plant will consume 1300 MTs per day and would reduce additional burden of fresh waste on the mounds of Ghazipur”.

In this plant, only 52.5 lakh tonnes of legacy waste have been processed so far. The plant has been utilizing 1400-1500 metric tons of municipal waste and Refuse Derived Fuel Waste (RDF) daily. In the month of April, two fire incidents were reported in the area where fresh waste was being dumped.

A senior EDMC official also commented by saying that “The Concessionaire has confirmed that the plant will begin operation from Thursday with consumption of waste in small quantities in the beginning. By May 15-20, it will become fully operational.”

What is a WTE Plant?

It facilitates the collection of waste from various landfills. And generates energy from the process of combustion of municipal solid waste. These facilities are designed to convert the remains after recycling into electricity for homes and businesses or steam for export to industries.

Waste-To-Energy plants burn municipal solid waste often known as garbage or trash. To produce steam in a boiler that is used to generate electricity. This municipal waste is a mixture of energy-rich materials such as plastics, paper, yard waste and wooden products.

Delhi has registered a jump of around 15% in the quantity of waste being dumped into the three landfill sites. As compared to the previous year, according to the government’s data.

According to reports submitted to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and the Central Pollution Control Board. Delhi generated 10990 tonnes per day (TPD) of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in April 2021, on average.

Other than using fresh waste at the WTE Plant, RDF was also being used as a huge stock which had piled up at the landfill.

EDMC needs more space at the landfill to set up five pairs of trommel machines. Each having a capacity of 900 tonnes of legacy waste every day. “We have sought the finance department’s approval after which we will place it before the commissioner before inviting empanelled agencies to install and operate the machines,” the official said.

Currently, there are 26 working trommel machines at Ghazipur, including four pairs of machines with a capacity to process 50 tonnes of waste per hour. Also, through these machines, EDMC processes 2500 to 3000 tonnes of waste on a daily basis.

Written By: Ishita Sachdeva

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