The site at Rainham accepts around 1.5million tonnes of waste and recyclables per annum. The landfill itself has been in existence for over 150 years and is 177 hectares in size.

Environmental Controls

1. Landfill Gas Electricity Generation
Once landfilled waste has been compacted, the natural breakdown of the material produces bio gases - methane and carbon dioxide. Methane gas would make a significant contribution to the greenhouse effect, so it is Veolia’s responsibility to minimise its impact on the environment.

However, methane can be burnt off to produce electricity. This also means that it reduces society’s need to burn fossil fuels - thereby avoiding the greenhouse emissions associated with burning them, and allowing us to retain these declining resources. Rainham generates 15MW of energy to the national grid -enough to supply 15,000 local homes.

2. Leachate Treatment
Some components of solid waste can dissolve into rainwater as it drains through the landfill waste - and the end product is called leachate. It is Veolia’s responsibility to control and treat the leachate to prevent it from getting into the River Thames or ground water.

Until Veolia took over control in 1980, there had only been one ditch to deal with the leachate emanating from the entire landfill site. Now the current plant commissioned early in 2001, treats around 50,000 m3/annum (11,000,000 gallons/annum).

Restoration
Under the terms of the planning consent, by 2018 the entire Rainham site will be restored for nature conservation and controlled public access.

Following waste compaction, the material is capped with soil, sand and a specialist man-made membrane and geotextile layer. This is topped with around one metre of sorted and screened soil forming material. Low nutrient soils are preferred because this encourages the diversity of self-sown grasses and wild flowers, although Veolia itself is planting a ground cover of native species of grasses and shrubs.

The importance of the marshes and inter-tidal habitats here, together with the wealth of wildlife they support, resulted in the area being designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under the Wildlife & Countryside Act.

Veolia’s restoration plans complement this, and through sound environmental management, the company has ensured the survival of a variety of species including short-eared owls, foxes, badgers, common lizards, adders and birds of prey. Of particular interest is the large number of brown hares, a species whose number is diminishing across the UK, but which is flourishing here.

A donation of £500,000 through the Veolia ES Cleanaway Havering Riverside Trust, helped the RSPB purchase an area of land to create a nature reserve on the marshes, home to water voles, great crested newts and birds such as skylarks and lapwings. This reserve, Rainham Marshes and the restored landfill will eventually form a conservation park as part of the re-development of London Riverside.