Who would think that your discarded newspapers may eventually conserve landfill space?

Old newspaper fiber now plays an essential role in landfill management/  It provides the binding element in an environmentally friendly ‘slurry’ that caps waste deposited in a landfill on a daily basis.  This ‘cap’ is required to contain blowing litter, minimize odors, and prevent material and dust contamination of local areas.

It is common for ordinary soil to be used as a cover in many UK landfill sites.  The alternative offered by Exeter based,  NWC-UK, a company pioneering this service in the UK, is made up of recycled paper, clays, and polymers.  This provides an environmentally safe and bio-degradable layer of cover that controls odors, blowing litter, fires, and assists in controlling vectors.   In addition to this, there are economical benefits that relate to reducing the loss of site capacity for waste.  It is estimated by NWC that this saves up to 20% site capacity, extending its useful life and reducing costs.

Mr. Milton Knight, Chief Executive Officer of New Waste Concepts in the USA and Director of NWC-UK, says, “We have developed globally patented products focused on saving space in the landfill and conforming to stringent regulation.  It protects the environment on a cost-effective basis whilst cleaning sediments contaminated with hazardous materials.  The odor control ability of the product comes from its film-forming capability.  This restricts and suppresses the escaping of volatile organic compounds and odor molecules that are attached to methane gas.  Blowing litter is also controlled as naturally occurring glues and polymers in the product make the litter pieces stick together.

“Instrumental in the make-up of our non-soil cover is recycled newsprint and other fibrous materials that create a bonded matrix which when mixed with water, form a viscous slurry.”