Viridor Waste,Dunbar L/F,Oxwell Mains,Dunbar

Viridor Waste,Dunbar L/F,Oxwell Mains,Dunbar
Site Location See Non-Hazardous Landfill → page for a wider UK perspective.
Waste Licence	PPC/E/0020058 (PPC/E/0020058)
Operator	Valencia Waste

Void

Year	Total Void
2019	3238183

Summary site information collated from a variety of sources
including: Monksleigh, Ellard Associates, EA, WasteDataFlow,
SEPA, NRW, DEFRA, BEIS and owner and developer websites

Summary

Dunbar landfill was developed by Blue Circle Waste Management and then Viridor from the early 1990s onwards. Blue Circle Waste Management were acquired by Pennon in 1995 and were renamed Haul Waste Disposal thereafter, subsequently becoming known as Viridor in 1999. The site comprises a modern landfill engineered to Landfill Directive standards.

History

Dunbar landfill was developed by Blue Circle Waste Management commencing in the early-1990s. It is located to the 4 km to the south-east of Dunbar, East Lothian. It adjoins a cement works and quarry operated by Lafarge (formerly Blue Circle Cement). It is located between the A1 trunk road and the East Coast mainline railway and is within 500m of the coast.

The site was previously a quarry producing feedstock for the adjoining cement works.

Planning Permission for restoration by landfilling was granted in 1996, site operations commenced in 1997. This planning permission envisaged completion of landfilling and site restoration by 2020. Subsequently, in 2020, an application (20/00627/PM) was made that sought to extend the life of the landfill operations at the site until 2025. This application was approved in September 2020.

The Waste Management Licence was changed to an Environmental Permit in 2003/4 as required by the changing legislation at the time.

The capacity at the site as originally granted Planning Permission was circa xxxx cubic metres; this was subsequently increased upon approval of a revised Landfill Surcharge Allowance and set of Landfill Settlement Contours to around yyy cubic metres.

Geology

Prior to excavation of the quarry, the site was underlain by Quaternary-aged fluvio-glacial deposits comprising silts, sands and gravels. These are underlain by limestones of the Middle Skateraw Limestone, part of the Lower Limestone Group, which itself forms part of the Carboniferous Limestone Series sequence. The limestones are classified as Principal Aquifer.

Mineral extraction at the site was principally the limestone of the Middle Skateraw Limestone.

Engineering and Environmental Controls

The morphology of the site is a medium depth landfill within a steep sided quarry void.

The landfill is constructed as a Containment Facility, utilizing site-derived and imported clay materials as the principal barrier. The landfill lining system is augmented with a flexible membrane liner of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) on the base and the sidewalls.

There is Landfill Gas power generation with electricity export to the National Grid. Installed capacity is 5.25W.

Leachate pumped from the landfill site is drained to two lagoons at the eastern end of the site. For many years, this has then been removed by road tanker for off-site disposal. In 2015, Viridor obtained planning permission (15/00022/PM) for an on-site treatment plant which would dispose of treated final effluent to the Dry Burn which runs along the eastern boundary of the site. It is unclear whether this plany has been constructed yet.

Other Infrastructure

Elsewhere within the site complex, Viridor have also developed several other waste processing facilities, including an internal waste transfer station (to enable road going vehicles to avoid driving on to the waste mass and also to act as a buffer store during windy weather conditions) and Dunbar EfW (Oxwellmains EfW), which will eventually take over for the landfill when it closes. The site is also rail-connected and wastes for landfill disposal were received from Edinburgh City Council by rail until the related contract ended in 2018/9.

Waste Tonnage, EWC List

The table shows a list of the Waste for the Permit PPC/E/0020058, that has arrived into sites as reported to the Regulator and then publicised in their reported statistics. The Data was last updated in October 2023. The total reported tonnage arriving at the site was: 52,681.14t.

EWC Code	Description	Tonnes In
02 01 04	waste plastics (except packaging)	6.10
18 01 04	wastes whose collection and disposal is subject to special requirements in order to prevent infection (e.g. dressings, plaster casts, linen, disposable clothing, nappies)	33.04
19 12 04	plastic and rubber	848.16
20 03 01	mixed municpal waste	3340.94
19 12 12	other wastes (including mixtures of materials) from mechanical treatment of waste other than those mentioned in 19 12 11	39035.26
02 02 03	materials unsuitable for consumption or processing	71.16
17 01 07	mixtures of concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics other than those mentioned in 17 01 06	423.32
19 08 01	screenings	610.76
19 12 05	glass	2799.90
17 05 04	soil and stones other than those mentioned in 17 05 03	5279.86
20 03 07	bulky waste	0.22
17 09 04	mixed construction and demolition wastes other than those mentioned in 17 09 01, 17 09 02 and 17 09 03	22.38
20 01 08	biodegradable kitchen and canteen waste	16.92
16 02 16	components removed from discarded equipment other than those mentioned in 16 02 15	58.56
02 01 06	animal faeces, urine and manure (including spoiled straw), effluent,collected separately and treated off-site	3.72
20 01 11	textiles	105.20
17 01 03	tiles and ceramics	25.64