Restoring a “dilute and disperse” municipal landfill

Docksway Landfill

Since 2001, we have been engaged by Newport City Council to provide engineering and environmental services on their Docksway Landfill. We helped restore the site, formally a ‘dilute and disperse’ municipal landfill, to include a new fully contained landfill at the same location, largely sited on a former river meander. 

For the new containment landfill, our first task was to establish baseline environmental data and build up evidence for risk assessments. Newport City Council required us to prepare two pollution prevention and control permits (PPCs) for different areas at the same time. We then provided design and support services to the council and devised a novel technique for soil strengthening. This used cement columns to transform the porridge-like alluvium into a surface on which the containment layer could be constructed. We continue to provide quality assurance for construction and contract management support.

Revisiting the site in 2014, Newport City Council wanted to explore if they could use the site for alternative uses. We carried out a feasibility study at the site looking into a range of options, including a 2MW solar farm and a number of wind turbines on and around the landfill.  We also considered alternative forms of income from the landfilling of asbestos and oil and gas exploration residues.