Baw Baw Shire Council’s $5.5 million Trafalgar Landfill Rehabilitation Project is now complete.
As part of the project an engineered landfill cap was constructed over the extensively levelled landfill waste to safely contain the gas, which is then extracted and treated with the aid of a purpose built system.
Baw Baw Shire mayor Joe Gauci announced the completion of the project, which is among the largest capital works projects Baw Baw Shire Council has ever undertaken.
“Works commenced in 2012 on this highly complex rehabilitation project, which involved a great deal of hard work, extensive collaboration with regulatory bodies, as well as design and works verification with multiple consultants,” Cr Gauci said.
The 1.8-metre deep landfill cap was built to the Environmental Protection Authority’s best practice landfill guidelines and includes several layers of compacted engineered fill, a drainage layer, plastic linings and topsoil, which together trap gasses produced and prevent rainwater mixing with the decaying landfill waste.
The site operated for waste disposal between 1964 and 2011 and during that period accepted a range of waste products including domestic garbage and commercial waste.
“Over that time, 500,000 tonnes of waste is estimated to have been landfilled here across 4.5 hectares of land,” Cr Gauci said.
“The recently installed gas extraction system will safely release the excess methane gas that is produced by the landfill, under controlled conditions.”
The landfill will soon go into aftercare mode, where it will be managed for another 30 years to ensure it continues to comply with the EPA’s closed landfill management requirements.
The site will continue to operate as the Trafalgar Transfer Station, with ongoing access improvements planned to be implemented during 2016/17.
