CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

This guideline supersedes and replaces the Environmental management of landfill facilities (municipal solid waste and commercial and industrial waste) [EPA 2007]. Any reference to the 2007 Guidelines in any statutory instrument or other publication should now be read as a reference to the Environmental management of landfill facilities – solid waste disposal (EPA 2019). Poor environmental practices have universally led to a degradation of the world’s water, air and land resources. National and international environment protection authorities are continually refining policies, regulation, practices and procedures with the aim of minimising the risk of environmental harm as part of transitioning to a sustainable future. Landfill has an important role to play as part of the transition required to achieve sustainable resource recovery and waste management. The role for landfill primarily involves accepting those wastes that are unable to be ‘avoided, reduced, reused, recycled or recovered’. It is vital that a precautionary approach be adopted to adequately address the environmental risks of landfill facilities, recognising that residual waste composition has changed, and will continue to change over time in response to technological advances in recovery activities. Development and operation of landfill facilities in South Australia are activities of environmental significance that require development approval under the Development Act 1993 and an environmental authorisation in the form of a licence, as specified in section 36 of the Environment Protection Act 1993 (EP Act). This document is intended to provide guidance to landfill operators, developers, planning authorities and regulatory bodies on the site selection, development, design, construction, operation, closure and post-closure management of solid waste landfill facilities which comply with the EP Act. The new information reflects the changing nature of residual waste composition in relation to disposal and the need to design and operate landfill facilities that take into account the changing chemical and physical composition of residual waste, now and into the future. This is especially relevant as South Australia strives to introduce new and innovative resource recovery activities to secure our position as a global leader in resource recovery and waste diversion from landfill.

OBJECTIVES

The principal objectives of this guideline are:

• To promote best practice landfill design, construction, operation, closure and post closure within Nigeria

• To minimise the risk of adverse impacts on the land, water and air environments associated with waste disposal.

• To provide direction, certainty and consistency for the site selection, development, operation, closure and post-closure management of landfill facilities.

• To identify the perceptions of the community on the issues of ex-landfill that influence their acceptance on any recommendation to redevelop the ex-landfill,

• To identify the perceptions of the community on the appropriateness of the type of ex-landfill redevelopment, and

• To identify the function of the development of public park on the ex-landfill according to the community needs and priorities.

PURPOSE