The non-sanitary landfill Vinca, the second-largest unmanaged open dump active in Europe, was in operation since 1977 and absorbed 600 truckloads of trash every day: 1,500 tons of household waste and 3,000 tons of construction waste. All this period, it was polluting the waters of Osljanski stream and further Osljanska pond, and the surrounding agricultural land. The Vinca dumpsite was ranked amongst the 50 most polluting dumpsites in the world listed in ISWA’s Roadmap for Closing Waste Dumpsites.
Old landfill stopped operation in August 17, 2021, and the disposal of municipal waste in the new sanitary landfill enabled the commencement of works on its remediation.
The old landfill remediation will comprise a full reshaping of the landfill body, involving the relocation of approximately 800,000 m3 of waste (subject to detailed design) in order to ensure the slope stability in both directions.
Reshaping of the landfill will be followed by covering the entire landfill body with a final layer – the so-called “technical recultivation layer” with the thickness of 1.2 m.
The landfill capping system will include the following components from the top to the bottom:
- 10 cm topsoil (including seeding) obtained from excavated materials by new landfill earthworks;
- 40 cm cover soil material excavated material from new landfill earthworks;
- 50 cm Impermeable clay layer, excavated from new landfill
- Geocomposite runoff drainage liner;
- Geocomposite landfill gas drainage liner;
- 20 cm fine materials below the liners (- transition layer) coming from excavated materials generated by new landfill earthworks.
The process of landfill closure ends with the recultivation of the closed landfill area and its fitting into the surrounding landscape. Considering the ecosystem sensitivity around Vinča landfill site, the primary function of the green area on the landfill closed body will be an anti-erosion protection. The planned solution will provide the stability of old waste deposits that are partially scattered by the soil layer (terraced solution of scarves in such landfills has shown good results). The entire surface will be firstly covered with grass species for erosion control.