Landfill Monitoring

Landfill sites are monitored to ensure that all activities are being undertaken in compliance with the permit and other regulatory requirements.

Furthermore, monitoring is undertaken to ensure that the site is performing as designed (such that if it is not performing remedial action can be considered) and other day to day impacts are managed to ensure that they are not unacceptable nor cause nuisance.

General Monitoring Requirements

Various aspects of the landfill are monitored, such as:

Quantity and type of waste received including any assessments of suitability for acceptance at the site
Daily activity and waste placement log
Leachate volume and quality within the waste mass
Leachate volume and quality extracted from the site and disposed
Landfill Gas quantity and quality within the waste mass
Presence of Landfill Gas outside the site perimeter
Emissions of Landfill Gas from the surface of the site
Groundwater quality outside the perimeter of the site
Surface water quality in nearby water bodies
Noise emissions associated with the site
Dust emissions associated with the site
Odour emissions associated with the site
Pest activity (e.g. birds, rodents) in, on and around the site
Complaint records held at the site

Reasons for Leachate, groundwater and surface water monitoring

The specific reasons for Leachate, groundwater and surface water monitoring at landfills are:

to demonstrate that the landfill is performing as designed;
to provide reassurance that Leachate controls are preventing pollution of the environment (by reference to a pre-established baseline);
to meet the control and monitoring requirements of legislation and in particular Regulations 14 and 15, as well as Schedule III, of the Landfill (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2005, this includes the requirement for control monitoring;
to demonstrate compliance with the Groundwater Control and Trigger level requirements of Schedule 3 of the Landfill Regulations;
to indicate whether further investigation is required and, where the risks are unacceptable, the need for measures to prevent, reduce or remove pollution by Leachate;
to identify when a site no longer presents a significant risk of pollution or harm to human health (to enable an application for a certificate of completion to be made, and thereby formally end the licensing or permitting process and the legal duty to monitor).