Pollution Engineering - November 2008 - (Page 25)

Landfill fauna, and attracts visitors daily to its scenic landscape. Construction of the landfill was started in 1995 to meet Singapore’s need for waste management when the landfill on the mainland at Lorong Halus closed in 1999. It was the world’s first manmade, offshore landfill created entirely from sea space. The unique landfill is situated among the islands, 8 km south of Singapore. The SG$610 million (about $431 million U.S.), the Pulau Semakau project is now Singapore’s only landfill. The landfill was formed by joining Pulau Semakau to another nearby island, Pulau Sakeng, with a 7-km perimeter bund comprising 4.5 million tonnes (5 million tons) of rock and 36 million tonnes of sand, in water depths ranging from 10 meters to 20 meters (66 feet). The bunds enclosed the sea area between the two islands, resulting in a 30-hectare (75 acres) offshore waste pond, covering an area of 3.5 sq. km, with a capacity of 63 million cu. meters. The large pond formed was divided into several small ponds, where tons of incinerated rubbish is now dumped each day. “ Fish can be seen swimming in and out of the lagoons, and marine life continues to thrive in the island’s mangrove mudflats and western shorelines. Sustainability Intended to be filled only with incinerated ash from the country’s four incinera- ” tion plants and incombustible refuse, the landfill, which began operations on April 1, 1999, is expected to last till 2040. However, government bodies, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and the National Environment Agency which manages the landfill, hopes this deadline will be extended through various waste minimization and resource conservation initiatives. Presently, about 1,400 tonnes of incineration ash and 600 tonnes of incombustible waste, such as construction and demolition waste, stabilized industrial sludge, and copper slag are disposed daily. When it was first created, ecologists protested the destruction of mangroves and coral reefs that fringed the original islands. But environmental concerns were addressed right from the start. During construction, silt screens were installed to ensure that the corals and other marine life in the vicinity were not affected during the reclamation works. The landfill was lined with an NOVEMBER200 NOVEMBER2008 www.pollutionengineering.co NOVEMBER2008 www.pollutionengineering.com OVEM EMB 00 ww .poll ti ne gi ee ing.c www.pollutionengineering.com ww p lu io en in er n co 25 25

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Pollution Engineering - November 2008

Pollution Engineering - November 2008 Contents The Editor's Desk EnviroNews PE Events Legal Lookout Casebook Canada Environment Management The Green Files Waste Island Phase I ESAs and Vapor Intrusion Meeting the Mercury Target Wet ESPs - The Sky's the Limit Most Successful IFAT China Ever Thermoplastic to the Rescue Install a Trench Without Open Excavations Remediate Impacted Soils Without Accumulation of Metabolites Apply an Alternative to Wet ESP Solve These Common Pump Problems Minimize Risks Handling Ammonia Monitor International Regulatory Developments for Audits Skim Oil and Save Prevent Chemical Vapor Intrusion Spill Control and Containment Products Pumps and Systems Equipment PE Products Classified Marketplace Advertisers Index State Rules

Pollution Engineering - November 2008

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