The event was attended by experts, companies and institutions, all united by the common goal of promoting environmentally friendly practices and innovative solutions for a more sustainable future.
The Challenge of Landfill Management
Controlled landfills are facilities for the final storage of waste that cannot be recovered in any other way. There are three main categories of landfills: for inert waste, for non-hazardous waste and for hazardous waste, each with specific technical requirements and environmental safeguards. The management of landfills is not limited to the operational period, but continues even after their closure for a minimum of 30 years, to ensure the control of environmental impacts, such as the production of biogas and leachate.
Future Objectives: Recovery and Valorisation
One of the main objectives discussed at the GREEN MED Expo & Symposium was the volumetric recovery of landfills through material sorting and valorisation processes. This approach involves the reduction of waste volume through the separation and recovery of recyclable materials and the production of Solid Secondary Fuel (SSC).
Innovative Technologies and Processes
1. Drum Screens: Used for the primary sorting of inhomogeneous materials, these machines allow the separation of stones, soils, sands, clays and small plastics, facilitating the subsequent valorisation phase.
2. Auger Selectors: These selectors, consisting of spirals that allow the passage of materials of a certain size, are particularly effective with clay soils, allowing the separation of plastics and compacted wood in clay clods.
3. Hydraulic Selectors: Used in secondary sorting, these machines separate heavy materials such as stones and metals from light plastics, directing the former to recycling and the latter to energy production.
The Participation of Cesaro Mac Import
Among the protagonists of the symposium, Cesaro Mac Import played a prominent role with the active participation of Giuseppe Dello Margio. During the event, Dello Margio gave a talk focused on the management and reclamation of landfills from the perspective of the circular economy. This speech highlighted the potential of landfill mining, an innovative approach that aims to transform landfills into resources through material recovery and energy production.
Giuseppe Dello Margio delved into the topic of volumetric recovery and matrix valorisation, explaining how advanced technologies and sorting processes can significantly reduce the environmental impact of landfills. He illustrated the use of machinery such as drum screens and hydraulic sorters, highlighting how these tools enable the separation and recovery of useful materials, turning waste into valuable resources.
Matrix valorisation
Waste valorisation involves two main streams: the under screen and the over screen. The under screen, consisting of fractions between 0 and 70 mm, is further sorted and stabilised for recycling. The over screen, which includes fractions between 20 and 70 mm, is separated into heavy and light fractions by hydraulic sorters, with the light plastics going to waste-to-energy and the heavy materials to recycling.
The GREEN MED Expo & Symposium demonstrated how technological innovation can revolutionise waste management, turning landfills into valuable resources for energy production and material recovery. With a full range of advanced machinery and innovative processes, the future of waste management looks increasingly towards sustainability and the circular economy.
