Whitehead Landfill and Reclamation

On the south side of the Bridgewater Canal, between Vicars Hall Bridge and Astley the landscape was until recently characterised by the remains of mine workings. It was a fairly barren scene surrounded by heaps of spoil (picture, right), and attempts to introduce vegetation had mostly been unsuccessful.

Since early 1999, an area of 90 hectares has been managed by Viridor Waste Management Ltd. The site is known as the Whitehead Landfill, after name of a nearby farm.

Access to the landfill site is via a new road from Morleys Hall to the entrance just south of Astley village. Traffic to and from the landfill site is barred from the village.

Only part of the site will be used for landfill. The remaining area, plus the landfill area in due course, will be restored to provide parkland and conservation areas.

Already work has been undertaken to establish a series of wildlife ponds on the western side of the site. These ponds are pictured, right, on a frosty winter morning.

Further restoration and landscaping has included the creation of a small lake near Keeper's Cottage, south of Vicars Hall Bridge.

 Each landfill cell will be capped when full. In due course its surface will be planted.

When first dug, the cells are packed with clay, then liners are laid inside to prevent the contents of the cell from polluting the water table. A layer of sand is added to protect the plastic liners before a layer of stone is laid to facilitate drainage. Only then does the process of filling the cell with waste commence.

The landfill cell is active as the waste is packed and as decomposition occurs. As part of this process, a landfill gas is produced, along with a fluid known as leachate. A shaft is sunk to the bottom of the landfill cell so that the levels of gas and leachate being produced may be monitored.

The landfill gas mainly comprises methane and carbon dioxide, and a process is being introduced whereby this gas can be converted to electricity to power the landfill site. Leachate is also pumped back through the cell to hasten the decay of the waste.

For more information see:

http://www.viridor-waste.co.uk/container.php?page=landfill

One potential nuisance on a landfill site comes from the gulls that are attracted to the area as a ready supply of food. Gulls have the potential to spread disease, and so are most unwelcome visitors. At the Whitehead Landfill, a natural way of discouraging the gulls is being tried. Every day birds of prey, such as hawks, are flown around the site to keep the gulls at bay. The bird on the right is resting between flights.

The Whitehead Landfill site is being operated in an environmentally friendly way, and offers the prospect of a pleasant area of natural amenity once the landfill is completed and landscaped, and once the regeneration of the 90 hectares is complete.