Objectives

(1) To characterise the volumes and chemical characteristics (including organics, nutrients, solids and metals) of leachate from at least two fresh and two stabilised landfills.

(2) To conduct a survey on the current position in relation to the use of WWTPs (particularly conventional activated sludge plants) for the treatment of landfill leachate in Ireland. This data will form part of the technical review of the treatability of leachate by WWTPs in Ireland.

(3) To develop systematic procedures that enable the on‐going capture of relevant data from both landfills and wastewater treatment facilities. This objective will link with a related EPA STRIVE project where the research team (in collaboration with DCU: 2012‐W‐MS‐10) are developing systematic, simple to use and robust  procedures for capturing data that enable measurement of key performance indicators at wastewater treatment plants.

(4) To examine the impact of various leachate loading regimes on a conventional WWTP. Modelling of the performance of the WWTP using dedicated software (e.g. GPS‐X) would allow the infrastructure, capacity and design of the WWTP to be evaluated under various loading regimes.

(5) Based on the results obtained in objective (4), above, a guidance document will be developed on effective operational  and control measures in relation to leachate acceptance. The sample number of WWTPs, tested in (4), above, would allow identification of parameters (volumes, loading regime, organic, nutrients and specific metals) which may inhibit performance.

(6) In instances where treatment may take place at a landfill, to monitor the effectiveness of the on‐site works and to conduct a cost‐benefit analysis of the polishing in a WWTP versus direct transport to a WWTP.