Saaremaa Mounts Massive Garbage Sorting Operation
Saaremaa islanders are preparing to dive into a city dump as a pilot project for reconditioning landfills around the country.
A 4.2-hectare rubbish tip will be taken apart in the next year and the waste generated over decades will be sorted to reclaim recoverable materials as well as to provide the covering material necessary for closing the dump.
The city of Kuressaare's dump contains about 80,000 cubic meters of waste generated over 40 years and has reached a height of 18 meters. Dumping ceased in 2009 and now the city is required to close the area in an environmentally harmless manner.
"The logic is that much has been buried here that could be incinerated or recovered. And we will also get what we need to produce material for covering up the dump," said chairman of the Saaremaa Prügila OÜ supervisory board Kalle Koov.
The landfill manager hopes to sort out 30 percent recoverable material. Another 30 percent would be the dirt, sand and gravel needed to cover up the dump. The rest of the waste would be reburied.
The University of Life Sciences is monitoring the pilot project.
"Sooner or later, already-closed landfills in Estonia will be recovered as well," said Koov. "Our project gives a way of mapping the process, calculating the output, how much hazardous waste, what sorts of problems arise in processing the waste and how it impacts the environment later. It will produce a voluminous report on the activities."
The work will cost 2 million euros, 90 percent of which comes from the EU Cohesion Fund, 10 percent from the landfill operator and the municipalities in the area.
In 18 months, the waste mountain should be down to two-thirds of its size and be revegetated.
Kristopher Rikken