TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The draft Municipal Waste Rules just placed in the public domain for feedback, have identified a specific criteria for site selection ~that the landfill site has to be large enough to last for at least 20 to 25 years, with riders that it should be away from habitation clusters, forest areas, water bodies, monuments, national parks, wetlands and places of important cultural, historical or religious interest and the distance from these is to be maintained as prescribed by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) on a case-to-case basis.
The Rules specified that a no development buffer zone be maintained around landfill sites and sites for processing and disposal of municipal solid waste. The buffer zone has to be prescribed by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), on a case-to-case basis.
Bio-medical waste has to be disposed of in accordance with the Bio-medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 199B as amended. The hazardous waste shall be managed in accordance with the Hazardous Waste (Management, Handling and Trans-boundary Movement) Rules, 200B, and e-waste shall be managed in accordance with the e-Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011.
The State has a problem with odour as can be seen even in the capital.
According to the draft Rules, installation of landfill gas control system including gas collection system has to be made at landfill sites to minimize odour generation, prevent off-site migration of gases and protect vegetation planted on the rehabilitated landfill surface. The concentration of methane gas generated at landfill site should not exceed 25 per cent of the lower explosive limit (LEL) and landfill gas from the collection facility at a landfill site to be utilized for either direct thermal applications or power generation, as per viability. Otherwise, landfill gas shall be burnt (flared) and shall not be allowed to directly escape into the atmosphere or allowed to be illegally tapped.
Also ambient air quality at the landfill site and at the vicinity is to be monitored to meet the specified standards.
In order to prevent pollution problems from compost plant and other processing facilities, the incoming waste at site shall be maintained prior to further processing.
“To the extent possible, the waste storage area should be covered. If, such storage is done in an open area, it shall be provided with impermeable base with facility for collection of leachate and surface water run-off into lined drains leading to a leachate treatment and disposal facility” and “necessary precautions shall be taken to minimize nuisance of odour, flies, rodents, bird menace and fire hazard.”
Pre-process and post-process rejects have to be removed from the processing facility on regular basis and will not be allowed to pile at the site.
In case of compost plant, the windrow area has to be provided with impermeable base. Such a base shall be made of concrete or compacted clay, 50 cm thick, having permeability coefficient less than 10-7 cm/sec. The base shall be provided with 1 to 2 per cent slope and circled by lined drains for collection of leachate or surface run-off.
