Since 1998, Sukomi has operated one of the best sanitary and engineered landfill in Middle East, designed and
constructed utilizing the industry’s best known technologies, observing rigorous local and international
environmental regulations and serving the highest population density areas in Lebanon while operating on 24/7
basis.
Naameh sanitary landfill’s operations and associated processes undergo strict environmental audits and checks,
ensuring that the surrounding areas’ geographies and natural geology sites are not affected by the landfilling
operations.
Sukomi sanitary landfills are monitored and controlled through a comprehensive system of testing, measuring
and analysis. The main determinants Sukomi considers in environmental management are:
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Groundwater
Surface water
Leachate
Sanitary Landfill gas
Meteorological parameters
Noise
Odor
Sanitary Landfill Settlement
Therefore, there isn’t any risk of illness or any other type of pollutant contamination for the residents of the areas
around Naameh sanitary landfill, as highlighted by the Government appointed international and national experts
who have often audited the site.
From day 1, Sukomi has resorted to employing a containment system whose primary purpose is to isolate the
sanitary landfill.
It is constituted of several
layers of liners as shown in
the drawing:
The two major discharges from the waste are gasses and a liquid known as leachate. Both of these by-products
are carefully accounted for in the design and management of Naameh sanitary landfill.
The Leachate cannot penetrate the containment liner that was put in precisely to prevent any contamination of
the local water-table. Thus, this fluid has to be specially treated. To contain any leachate migration from the
sanitary landfill and, as such, protect the soil and ground water from any contamination, Sukomi has adopted
three main pillars for leachate management consisting of:
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Collection
Drainage
Treatment.
The leachate is collected & treated systematically. In this regard, Sukomi has placed a containment system
composed of geo-composite and perforated pipes embedded into the basalt which channels leachate towards a
collection point from which it is pumped.
Collection pipes take it to the
lowest point of the site where
extraction towers permit its
removal by heavy-duty pumps to
the leachate treatment station.
In the leachate treatment station, the leachate is turned into a colorless and harmless liquid through chemical
and physical processes.
With regard to the gases emitted by the naturally occurring waste degradation process in the sanitary landfill
and being fully aware of the cycle of gas production, Sukomi has installed perforated pipes for the safe
extraction of the gas from the sanitary landfill.
Sukomi has also made provision for the
ongoing control and monitoring of this
gaseous discharge.
This has allowed Sukomi to acquire, at its own expenses in 2014, a gas to energy generator (GEG) that has been
installed in Naameh sanitary landfill.
This GEG produces 0.5 MW of free
electricity to run the whole sanitary
landfill operations and to provide
electricity to Naameh’s 3 neighboring
villages (Abey, Baawerta, Ain Drafil),
namely to more than 550 houses.
By the end of 2016, Naameh’s power capacity will increase to 7 MW.
Back in July 17, 2015, and when Naameh sanitary landfill reached its full capacity without the Government being
able to find an alternative solution, Sukomi’s contract came to an end. It is important to pinpoint that since 1997
Sukomi had continuously advised that the Naameh sanitary landfill will reach its maximum capacity and that
there was a need to find suitable alternative disposal solutions to prevent a crisis like the one that Lebanon has
witnessed lately.
Ever since Naameh closed down last year and Sukleen’s and Sukomi’s contracts expired, we had no permanent
waste disposal option made available to us, other than the temporary storage areas provided by the
Municipalities and the Lebanese Government.
Starting March 19, 2016 and under the current Waste Management Plan of the Lebanese Government, ratified
by the government Decision no. 1 dated 12.03.2016, we have immediately mobilized our workforce and logistic
equipment and collected more than 85% of the waste accumulated on the streets of Beirut and Mount Lebanon
and we are transporting it to Naameh sanitary landfill where new cells are being prepared for the incoming
quantity of waste. As such, we are committed to remove 100% within the 2 months period set by the
Government.
After May 19, 2016 which is the date of the sanitary landfill closure, Sukomi will be responsible of the final cap that
enables the economic rebirth for the site.
The capping system will consist of several layers that are:
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Compacted cohesive engineering fill
Liner LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) or
very flexible polyethylene
Geocomposit drainage (for rain water
drainage)
Sand protection layer
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Geotextile
Gas extraction network
Agriculture soil
Herbaceous plants vegetative cover (selected
from the surrounding area to blend properly with
the rest of the environment)
The final cap is important answers primarily environmental needs to:
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Minimize infiltration of water into the
waste;
Promote surface drainage and maximize
run off;
The first cell that was finally capped at
Naameh sanitary landfill,
back in 2003
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Control gas migration;
Provide a physical separation between waste and
plant and animal life.