Functional improvement landfill 76 – Catania

The re-design intervention has provided the functional improvement for morphologic
structure by redistributing the original planned waste disposal volume for the non-
hazardous waste landfill, situated in Grotte San Giorgio in Catania, authorized by the
Regional Sicilian Decree D.D.G. No. 76 03/03/2010 (Integrated Environmental Authorization
in accordance with the Legislative Decree D.Lgs. No. 152/06 and further amendments).
After the approval of the functional improvement design, the authorization was modified
in accordance with the decree D.D.G. No. 1244 07/26/2013.
The extension of the total site is 35.000 m², the cell occupies approximately 23.200 m²
and with the remaining area holding auxiliary facilities including landfill gas and leachate
management systems. The authorized landfill has an equivalent capacity of 1.000.000 m³ ,
in a single hillside excavated cell, with a variable depth between 50 and 30 m, respectively
upstream and downstream.
The operation stage of the landfill began in August 2012, during the filling an improvement
of the original planned structure of the cell was required in order to maintain safety
conditions regarding the operation of the haul-road for heavy vehicles transportation and
disposing the waste within the cell, for this purpose the implementation of a new cell of
approximately 5.850 m³ was required.
The new cell was constructed downstream of the original cell using subvertical walls
(due to natural high strength of the excavated soil). Allowing the authorised volume
preservation by decreasing original cell planned height. Furthermore, perimeter screening
was constructed using large basaltic rocks and topped off with sand and calcarenite
gravel, reaching 10-meter average height and a 6 meters upper-thickness with a 35
degrees slope.