In the framework of the prestigious World Resources Forum 2019 (Antwerp), the Interreg Europe COCOON project team hosted the workshop “Landfill management: from landfill to useful resource” on February 26, 2019. The event coincided with the broadening of the EURELCO mission from ELFM-only to a wider Dynamic Landfill Management framework, which was also the core conclusion from the 2nd ELFM Seminar in the European Parliament (November 20, 2018). All presentations are now available. (AV/PTJ, Houthalen/Leuven, 26/03/2019)
World Resources Forum 2019
The World Resources Forum 2019 ‘Closing Loops – Transitions at work’ was hosted by the Public Waste Agency of Flanders (OVAM). From 24 to 27 February 2019. One of the WRF workshops was organised by the Interreg Europe COCOON project, one of the three core EU-projects of the European Enhanced Landfill Mining Consortium (EURELCO). COCOON stands for the Consortium for a Coherent European Landfill Management Strategy.
Presentations
In the first part of the workshop a number of pitch presentations were presented by diverse stakeholders. They were intended to stimulate the debate in the second part. The links to these presentations can be found below:
- Welcome and introduction by Annick Vastiau (VITO /Cleantech Flanders)
- Impressions from the event in the European Parliament (November 2018) by Peter Tom Jones (KU Leuven)
- Results of the landfill management mapping in the 6 COCOON regions by Michaël Van Raemdonck (OVAM)
- Landfill management in the Netherlands by Fons van de Sande (Rijkswaterstaat)
- Landfill management in Flanders and EU by Eddy Wille (OVAM)
- Classification system for resources at landfills by Andrea Winterstetter (VITO)
- The landfill directive with regard to follow up of former landfills led by Eddy Wille (OVAM)
Panel Debate
In the second part of the workshop the pitch presenters were involved in an animated discussion on different aspects of landfill management. Questions with regard to leachate treatment, landfill monitoring, asbestos in landfills, old landfills and brownfields, and the leading actors in landfill management were answered and discussed. These are the main conclusions from the workshop:
- Landfill paradigm needs to change from a risk-based, static view to a comprehensive, long-term, multi-phased Dynamic Landfill Management (DLM) vision.
- DLM gives regions the opportunity to make choices on what to do with the landfills in their region (permanent or interim use) and prioritise landfills in order to monitor, map, treat… them.
- For management of landfills we can learn from brownfields: both are (potentially) contaminated sites that need to be redeveloped. In some regions this is already the case, as is demonstrated in the Interreg RAWFILL project (see e.g. March 28 event in Cuves, France).
Broadened mission statement of EURELCO
The event coincided with the broadening of the EURELCO mission from ELFM-only to a wider Dynamic Landfill Management framework, which was also the core conclusion from the 2nd ELFM Seminar in the European Parliament (November 20, 2018). The new EURELCO mission statement is now: “EURELCO is an open, quadruple helix network that supports the required technological, legal, social, economic, environmental and organisational innovation with respect to the development and implementation of a Dynamic Landfill Management (DLM) framework. The DLM framework includes resource recovery-driven Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM) as one of its most advanced components, thereby supporting the transition to a resource efficient, circular, low-carbon economy.”
ELFM V Symposium
The broadening of the mission statement to Dynamic Landfill Management will also provide the background for the 5th International Symposium on Enhanced Landfill Mining which will take place in Leuven, Belgium, on February 6, 2020. More info will be available soon on http://elfm.eu/
