4 CLEANERS vs 1 MILLION TONNES OF TRASH

a large problem that we are all a part of when we throw our non-recyclable rubbish in a bin or Skip it is a complicated problem solved out of sight out of mind it is no longer our problem but it is a problem for those who manage a huge landfill site near Ipswich in Suffolk this is the active landfill area the waste keeps arriving in an endless convoy every day there are 90 lorries wanting to dump a thousand

tonnes

of waste we have a mix of vehicles here we have dust shields the councils receive Arctic transfer stations. We jump the trucks at the transfer stations.

We also receive small commercial vehicles. As soon as the waste leaves the truck, work must be done to contain it. Problem: It takes up too much space wherever it is. The compactor is where they know where they got a clue. Meet the compactor. 45 tons of heavy metal. The compactor sifts through the freshly dumped

trash

, breaking up the

trash

and flattening it so it takes up less space and creates a firm surface good for trucks to drive on while being a landfill and a solid foundation for when this is finally transformed into usable soil. Meet The Mad Max of Suffolk.

Ralph breaks. I am a plant operator. This is a 45 ton landfill compactor with bow loader. The engine produces more than 500 horsepower. but the top speed through the three speed gearbox is only 10 miles per hour the operation is quite simple you have the steering lever you have the accelerator you have the blade instead of suspension the body rotates to deal with rough terrain Its key features are metal spikes Wheels designed to shred and compact up to a thousand

tonnes

of landfill waste a day, however you slice it, a landfill is essentially a hole in the ground and to be useful it has to be large: it is five

million

cubic meters of air. space is one of the largest holes in the UK it used to be a quarry and at one time waste would have simply been dumped into the hole but there is no longer a problem large and potentially dangerous flammable methane gas a tonne of landfill could produce 500 cubic meters meters of gas so they have to fix the hole, what we do is we take a section of the site, we line it and what that does is not only protect the surrounding environment, but in order to make the site work for us, we can extract the gas, burn the methane in the gas to produce good renewable energy, the site here is producing up to five megawatts of capacity of that electricity and that is enough to meet the domestic needs of about nine and a half thousand homes, although 250,000 homes dump their waste at the site Even with trash compacted into a giant rubber-lined hole and flammable gas burned to generate electricity, the landfill's problems are not over unless action is taken.

Some of the rubbish will try to escape at a landfill site near Ipswich in Suffolk. Ralph is crushing waste into a giant hole using his 45-ton bomag compactor, but they have a problem: people live not far from the site and it doesn't matter how compact the waste is. With the wind in the wrong direction it will smell terrible, what you need is a giant can of air freshener, this is the odor suppression system. We have an adjacent village nearby, in case there is any smell in the place, we turn on the system and it sprays a fragrant smell into the air which is very similar to the air fresheners you have at home, but on a large scale, so you can imagine that gives off a smell around the site, you can put any fragrance you want there, but by the time we have strawberry, the waste produces not only smelly gases but also unpleasant liquids and if it left the site or leaked into the water supplies potable the results could be disastrous the black membrane that lines the spillway stops liquids escaping on top of the membrane there is a drainage system what we are standing on is the drainage level so that all the liquid that seeps through the waste can be captured at a low point, the virus can be pumped out and safely removed, wastewater treatment works with liquids known as leachate, if you can imagine your black wheelie bin at home if it's been there for a week or two. the brown, muddy liquid that collects at the bottom, that's what a scientist who had worked in the industry for many years once told me if you had half a liter of leachate to give you an idea of ​​how dangerous it would be Drinking it will probably make you dizzy and a little sick, but it won't make you sick in the long run.

Don't try this at home. Notice that Dan isn't actually drinking a quart of leachate or the systems to deal with flammable gas odors and unpleasant liquids. do not attend to the problems, even solid waste can walk or rather fly, the problem is hundreds of seagulls that collect large pieces of garbage and scatter them not only on this site but also on the surrounding community, but that does not happen with this advice , if Paul Morris does his job, I mean the bird controller here and clear the place of seagulls. He gives the girls a proper lesson. Targets react to the Peregrine's shape and retreat.

Usually the deterrent effect is enough, but sometimes she makes a killing. She will do a circuit on the site. If she caught something, then I'll have to track it down. She take her down with my transport team and then um and see where she is. It is necessary from time to time for the birds to catch birds here to get them into, you know, the routine of knowing that there is something dangerous about the place makes the Falcon, another soldier in the battle against Prime, stagger. The good people of Suffolk send 90 truckloads or a thousand tonnes of rubbish every day to be dumped and compacted into a 5

million

cubic meter hole in the ground as a landfill, but everyone knows it. it can't go on forever the landfill is the past recycling is the future on the other side of the site there is a different dumping operation on another large waste pile that someone will have to deal with, but this waste is going to become 96 to 97 money will be recycled from what you can see in this.

This big pile is worthless garbage unless it can be separated into different materials. Its mixed cans, bottles, paper and packaging, but these guys are about to separate it with a very combination of materials. High and very low technology, the recycling plant is like a big machine with humans working together with the technology and it can only make money if it is fast. Here is a machine that moves quickly. We're actually hitting 19 to 20 tons per hour once they're broken down. of textiles, wood and things you shouldn't put in the recycling bin, the machines get to work first, the trommel, a big drum that gets rid of small things, suddenly starts to get a little technical, anything, some 45 million that will go to the landfill. anything between 180 and 18 will become ballistic separates the lighter paper from the heavier Packaging: This is the main cabin in theory, the waste should now be separated into three types, but the machines are not so good in the collection cabin Resources collectors who are on the wrong line finally there is mixed paper, news and bombs and 3D, which are bottles and cans, the next process continues, magnets, as you can see, the place where the hands are stolen, the next process is the others currents and that removes the aluminum, the biggest challenge is separating the plastics. in different types and this is a high tech camera recognition, the camera detects a particular type of plastic bottle and then when it comes out of the machine a quick burst of air sends it in the right direction, really this is where it all ends up in bales of paper, aluminum and steel. and Plastics that someone wants to buy today another 250 tonnes of waste has gone from wheelie bin to valuable wheelie bin see what I did there?

This is the future. What about the future of the landfill? It is also becoming something else we can restore. to heathland to woodland to farmland you can graze animals on it you can grow crops on it um here we are creating habitat for local wildlife but it will not be returned to Suffolk until all danger of further pollution has passed and that could take decades thank you