In May, leading environmental scientists from the USA visited Rockhampton’s Lakes Creek Road Landfill to view the City’s phytocap trial. Rockhampton Mayor, Councillor Margaret Strelow, said this trial is testing an environmentally sustainable and cost effective new capping system for the landfill.
“All landfills must be capped or sealed prior to their closing to prevent rainwater entering and percolating through the waste,” Mayor Strelow said. “This excess water could possibly create an environmentally hazardous runoff.”
Conventional landfill caps are made of compacted clay or synthetic material similar to plastic, which can cost up to $240,000 per hectare.
The phytocap comprises selected soils densely planted with vegetation. It would be half the cost, but this approach is yet to be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The phytocap trial is a joint project between Rockhampton City Council, PhytoLink and Central Queensland University.
Visiting US scientist Dr Bill Albright, a lead researcher in the field of landfill capping, and US EPA officer, Steve Rock, toured Australia to help set up a national phytocap trial. They attended meetings with Queensland EPA officers and other landfill specialists and spent two days in Rockhampton to pass their knowledge onto local professionals.
“We hope this will assist Council to obtain approval for this technology to provide a better outcome for the environment around the landfill and to save Council and the ratepayers considerable expenditure,” Mayor Strelow said.
