Eco Friendly Offshore

LandFills
A Presentation By Joel Mathew
14MST0011

What comes to mind

when we think of
Landfill

What comes to mind

when we think of
Landfill

What comes to mind

when we think of
Landfill

What comes to mind

when we think of
Landfill

Well Is it a Impossible to think of

an eco-friendly clean & odour free
Landfill ?
Pulau Semakau Lanfill

NOT AT ALL!!

Pulau Semakau is located to the south

ofthe
main island of Singapore, off the
Straits of Singapore.

e Semakau Landfill is Singapores Fir

shore landfill and now
e only remaining landfill in Singapore

Questions that may

arise in your minds!
Landfill at sea?
Code says landfill should be minimum 200400meters away from rivers
Isn't water table very high which can cause
high leachate production;
Wont it harm aquatic life?
How is this possible?

Well How do they do it?

Barrier walls around the Island
Convert Waste to Energy reducing size of
waste to 10% the original volume
Tuas Marine Transfer Station(TMTS)
Air tight transfers
Proper mixing and compaction
Planting Mangroves around the landfill

Perimeter Barrier Wall

A 7km perimeter rock bund was built to enclose a
part of the sea off Pulau Semakau and Pulau
Sakeng to create the space required for the landfill.
The bund is lined with impermeable membrane and
a layer of marine clay. This ensures that leachate
from the refuse is contained within the landfill area.
Other ancillary facilities were also built on the
island to ensure that the landfill operation is selfsustainable.

Waste-to-energy
(WTE) / Incineration
Plants
Incineration plants are also known as waste-to-energy
(WTE) plants. The heat from the combustion
process is used to generate superheated steam
in boilers. The steam is in turn used to drive turbo
generators to produce electricity.
To prevent odours from escaping into the
environment, the air in the refuse bunker is kept
below atmospheric pressure.
High-capacity rotary crushers are used to break down
bulky wastes so that they are suitable for incineration.

Waste-to-energy
Incineration Plants
An efficient flue gas cleaning system comprising
electrostatic precipitators, lime powder dosing
equipment and catalytic bag filters remove dust and
pollutants from the flue gas before it is released into
the atmosphere via 150m tall chimneys.
Ferrous scrap metal contained in the ash is
recovered and sold to a local steel mill for recycling.
The ash which is reduced to 10% of the initial
volume is sent to the Tuas Marine Transfer Station
for disposal at the offshore Semakau Landfill.

Tuas Marine Transfer Station(TMTS)

The Tuas Marine Transfer Station (TMTS) serves

as an intermediate collection point for ash
from waste-to-energy plants and nonincinerable waste before these are transported
to Semakau Landfill.
The TMTS was constructed at the same time as
Semakau Landfill and is strategically located
next to the Tuas South Incineration Plant.

 All incoming licensed collection vehicles

carrying non-incinerable waste are first
weighed at the weighbridges before they
enter the transfer building. Vehicles carrying
incinerated ash to TMTS are also weighed.

 The reception hall is designed for a quick

turn-around time with 20 overhanging
discharge bays for the vehicles to unload
waste directly into the barges. The tipping
platform is designed to overhang into the
barge so that refuse is tipped into the center
of the barge. Excavators are used to spread
the refuse in the barge to ensure that it is
optimally loaded.

Transfer To Landfill

The empty vehicles that carried nonincinerable waste to TMTS are weighed again.
This allows the weight of waste delivered to
be determined. At the end of the day, the
hatch covers of the fully loaded barges are
closed to shield the load from the wind
and water during the 30km sea journey to
Semakau. The barging operation is done at
night to maximize the usage of the marine
vessels.

Waste On arrival @Site

Upon arriving at Semakau Landfill, the barge berths at the
enclosed transfer building. The tugboat then disengages itself
and returns to TMTS with an emptied barge.
Large excavators with interchangeable and specially designed
grabs unload the solid waste from the barge. The solid waste
is then placed onto 35-tonne payload off-road dump.
A 10m-wide paved roadway along the top of the perimeter
bund provides access to all sections of the landfill. The dump
trucks travel to a designated tipping site and unloads the
incinerated ash and non-incinerable waste into the landfill
cell.
Bulldozers and compactors then level and compact the
incinerated ash and non-incinerable waste.

 Each cell is covered with a layer of earth once

it has been filled to ground level.
Subsequently, grass and trees take root to
form a green landscape.
A new tipping cell is activated by sealing off
the concrete pipes that connect the cell to
the sea. An empty space into which solid
waste will be dumped is created.

Flora & Fauna

The construction of the perimeter bund of the Landfill
affected mangroves on the eastern side of the island.
The developers replanted two plots; The two plots are
doing well, indicating that there has bee no seepage
through the liners,
Today, after years of operation, the replanted
mangrove, and remaining natural habitats on the
island are doing well.
Even the closed cells, topped up with soil, are
flourishing. Birds can be seen in the air and on the
open landscape, fishes swim in and out of the
lagoons, and marine life continues to thrive in the
mangrove.

Benefits Of Having an
Offshore Lanfill
Landfill is near yet away from city and
people
Problem of society disputes are avoided
Problem of Reducing land value
surrounding the landfill is avoided
Landfill Expansion becomes easy hence
avoiding many problems and processes

Landfill Expansion
Using various ground reclamation
techniques we can reclaim more land and
built rock bunds which will isolate the sea
from the landfill and all the related plants on
shore does not have to relocated and which in
turn saves lot of time and money
For small Countries like middle eastern
countries & cities with sea shores this would
be a good option as land reclamation is a
common phenomenon in todays world

Japan Airport

Dubai Islands

Vibro-Compaction

Future Of Landfills
In many developed countries were running out of
Land space and land is becoming very expensive
A time is soon coming/come where creating offshore
Islands will be much cheaper for the government
than buy lands in the country
This could be the only alternative option remaining
for many developed countries like how Singapore is
already practicing
As Geo-Environmental Engineers we should keep a
broad mindset while selecting the site and designing
landfills

THANK YOU