Cost-intensive aftercare of the Gallenbach household waste landfill, Germany
In the first twenty years after the closure of the Gallenbach landfill in 1991, a sum in the tens of millions of euros had to be spent on surface sealing measures and the capture of landfill gas.
Bayer. Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz
Since the original operating company has been insolvent since 1995, it was agreed that these costs would be shared between the municipalities whose household waste was deposited there and the Free State of Bavaria, represented by the responsible district government.
Full text:
Beginning in 1972, essentially three Bavarian counties brought their household waste to the Gallenbach landfill, located near the A8 highway between Munich and Augsburg. By the time the landfill was filled in 1991, a total of 2.5 million m³ of waste had been deposited. The necessary measures for sealing and collecting the leachate overtaxed the private operator, the company Großraummdeponie Gallenbach GmbH & Co. KG, which subsequently filed for insolvency in 1995.
Even today, more than 30 years later, the household waste landfill is still demanding considerable annual costs from the municipalities affected. Twenty years after the landfill was closed, the annual costs for the affected districts are in the six-digit range. The Free State of Bavaria contributes about 30% of the costs.
The costs are borne by the general public.
Although the Gallenbach landfill has had a technical surface seal with recultivation layer since 1995, it can be assumed that existing groundwater damage will have to be remediated for many years to come. Exactly how long is currently unknown. The special feature of the Gallenbach landfill results from the location where high geogenic arsenic concentrations are present and leachate from the "Old Domestic Waste Mountain", which is not sealed to the subsoil, releases this arsenic.
In order to protect the environment in the region and to meet the requirements of the licensing authorities, the aftercare of landfills is essential. The Gallenbach case study shows that the long-term consequences of landfilling untreated waste can be serious and expensive, and that it is therefore essential to build up reserves during the lifetime of the landfill.
Beginning in 1972, essentially three Bavarian counties brought their household waste to the Gallenbach landfill, located near the A8 highway between Munich and Augsburg. By the time the landfill was filled in 1991, a total of 2.5 million m³ of waste had been deposited. The necessary measures for sealing and collecting the leachate overtaxed the private operator, the company Großraummdeponie Gallenbach GmbH & Co. KG, which subsequently filed for insolvency in 1995.
Even today, more than 30 years later, the household waste landfill is still demanding considerable annual costs from the municipalities affected. Twenty years after the landfill was closed, the annual costs for the affected districts are in the six-digit range. The Free State of Bavaria contributes about 30% of the costs.
The costs are borne by the general public.
Although the Gallenbach landfill has had a technical surface seal with recultivation layer since 1995, it can be assumed that existing groundwater damage will have to be remediated for many years to come. Exactly how long is currently unknown. The special feature of the Gallenbach landfill results from the location where high geogenic arsenic concentrations are present and leachate from the "Old Domestic Waste Mountain", which is not sealed to the subsoil, releases this arsenic.
In order to protect the environment in the region and to meet the requirements of the licensing authorities, the aftercare of landfills is essential. The Gallenbach case study shows that the long-term consequences of landfilling untreated waste can be serious and expensive, and that it is therefore essential to build up reserves during the lifetime of the landfill.
Covering Clay Layer
Laying the plastic sealing sheet (KDB)
Laying the KDB in the edge area
Shaft structure
Tank with leachate
Addendum:
"The national greenhouse gas inventory shows that Germany's landfills emitted about 25 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents less in 2015 than in 1990 [...]. As experience from the German waste management sector teaches, this decrease can be largely attributed to the decreased amount of biodegradable waste landfilled."
Source: Federal Environment Agency, retrieved 12/05/2023 1https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/klimavertraegliche-abfallwirtschaft#erfolgsgeschichte-deponierungsverbot-fur-unbehandelten-restabfall
"The national greenhouse gas inventory shows that Germany's landfills emitted about 25 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents less in 2015 than in 1990 [...]. As experience from the German waste management sector teaches, this decrease can be largely attributed to the decreased amount of biodegradable waste landfilled."
Source: Federal Environment Agency, retrieved 12/05/2023 1https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/klimavertraegliche-abfallwirtschaft#erfolgsgeschichte-deponierungsverbot-fur-unbehandelten-restabfall
Additional sources:
-
Lichtenstern, C. (2010, October 17). Gallenbach landfill: toxic gases will continue to emerge from waste mountain for a long time. Augsburger Allgemeine. https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/meldungen/Muelldeponie-Gallenbach-Aus-dem-Muellberg-kommt-noch-lange-giftiges-Sickerwasser-id17169386.html
-
Herrmann, B. (2021, March 17). Leachate from Gallenbach household waste landfill to be discharged into Dasingen wastewater treatment plant. Aichacher Zeitung. https://www.aichacher-zeitung.de/cnt-id-art23,159614
-
Climate-friendly waste management (2021, February 11). Federal Environment Agency. https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/klimavertraegliche-abfallwirtschaft#abfallbehandlung-schutzt-heute-das-klima
-
Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Nieborowsky, KUMAS-Kompetenzzentrum Umwelt e. V.
Pictures: au-consult, Augsburg
-
Lichtenstern, C. (2010, October 17). Gallenbach landfill: toxic gases will continue to emerge from waste mountain for a long time. Augsburger Allgemeine. https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/meldungen/Muelldeponie-Gallenbach-Aus-dem-Muellberg-kommt-noch-lange-giftiges-Sickerwasser-id17169386.html
-
Herrmann, B. (2021, March 17). Leachate from Gallenbach household waste landfill to be discharged into Dasingen wastewater treatment plant. Aichacher Zeitung. https://www.aichacher-zeitung.de/cnt-id-art23,159614
-
Climate-friendly waste management (2021, February 11). Federal Environment Agency. https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/klimavertraegliche-abfallwirtschaft#abfallbehandlung-schutzt-heute-das-klima
-
Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Thomas Nieborowsky, KUMAS-Kompetenzzentrum Umwelt e. V.
Pictures: au-consult, Augsburg
Contact
More case studies:
Monitoring an Open Transhipment Hall Using a Visual Fire Detection Solution from Bosch
Management of Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment in Finland
Successful ‘Elektro To Go’ Reuse Project in Upper Austria Shows Results
20 Years Of Landfill Bans in Germany – A Forgotten Climate Protection Measure
The Biowaste Treatment Plant at the Brahma Kumaris Campuses in Abu Road in India Empowers Sustainable Communities through Effective Solid Waste Management
Transfer Center of Kram, Tunisia
Dubai's WtE Plant Turns 5,500 Tonnes of Waste into Renewable Energy Every Day
Lorenz Meters – Smart Water Meters in Circulation
Lean Gas Instead of High-Temperature Flare at the Blomenhof Landfill, Neumarkt i.d.OPf. - Climate Protection Through Landfill Remediation
Reducing Food Waste and Boosting Sustainable Impact in a Corporate Canteen
Management of Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment in Finland
Successful ‘Elektro To Go’ Reuse Project in Upper Austria Shows Results
20 Years Of Landfill Bans in Germany – A Forgotten Climate Protection Measure
The Biowaste Treatment Plant at the Brahma Kumaris Campuses in Abu Road in India Empowers Sustainable Communities through Effective Solid Waste Management
Transfer Center of Kram, Tunisia
Dubai's WtE Plant Turns 5,500 Tonnes of Waste into Renewable Energy Every Day
Lorenz Meters – Smart Water Meters in Circulation
Lean Gas Instead of High-Temperature Flare at the Blomenhof Landfill, Neumarkt i.d.OPf. - Climate Protection Through Landfill Remediation
Reducing Food Waste and Boosting Sustainable Impact in a Corporate Canteen