Recently, the International Waste Working Group (IWWG) launched a new Multidisciplinary Journal for Waste Resources and Residues. The journal has been named Detritus to convey a truly international flavour (the term derives from Latin). In its second Volume (June 2018) Detritus has just published two articles on (Enhanced) Landfill Mining (ELFM), which were developed through the EU MSCA-ETN NEW-MINE project. (Leuven, 3/7/2018).

Two new Enhanced Landfill Mining papers by NEW-MINE ESRs

• LANDFILL MINING: A CASE STUDY REGARDING SAMPLING, PROCESSING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EXCAVATED WASTE FROM AN AUSTRIAN LANDFILL –García López, B. Küppers, A. Clausen and T. Pretz

• CHARACTERIZATION OF FINE FRACTIONS FROM LANDFILL MINING: A REVIEW OF PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS – J.C. Hernández Parrodi, D. Höllen and R. Pomberger

On Detritus

Science is the main factor in promoting and guiding the human progress. Journals play a fundamental role in validation, diffusion and recording of the scientific results. But in order to be useful Science should part of a network shaped as a triangle. One of the triangle vertices is Science, being the other two Society and Industry. Society (culture, policy, administration, welfare, psychology, wealth care, etc.) stimulates the scientific activities and receives benefits from it. Industry (Technologies, Economy, Occupation, etc.) and entrepreneurship in general, is committed to support and apply the scientific knowledge, bringing it in the real world. To this triangle the attention of this new Journal is addressed, focusing on all aspects dealing with waste resources management and engineering and carefully considering the responsible and sustainable material loop closing for residues. The name Detritus is functional to the journal character as it is multidisciplinary and refers to a residue which can become a resource (like sand, gravel or organic debris!). More info: https://detritusjournal.com/presentation/

On ETN NEW-MINE

Europe has somewhere between 150,000 and 500,000 landfill sites, with an estimated 90% of them being “non-sanitary” landfills, predating the EU Landfill Directive of 1999. These older landfills tend to be filled with municipal solid waste and often lack any environmental protection technology. In order to avoid future environmental and health problems, many of these landfills will soon require expensive remediation measures. This situation might appear bleak, but it does present us with an exciting opportunity for a combined resource-recovery and remediation strategy, which will drastically reduce future remediation costs, reclaim valuable land, while at the same time unlocking valuable resources. However, the widespread adoption of Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM) in the EU, as envisaged by NEW-MINE, urgently requires skilled scientists, engineers, economists and policy makers who can develop cost-effective, environmentally friendly ELFM practices and regulatory frameworks. All this demands a European commitment to concerted, inter- and transdisciplinary research and innovation. NEW-MINE trains 15 early-stage researchers (ESRs) in all aspects of landfill mining, in terms of both technological innovation and multi-criteria assessments. The technological innovation follows a value-chain approach, from advanced landfill exploration, mechanical processing, plasma/solar/hybrid thermochemical conversion and upcycling, while the multi-criteria assessment methods allow to compare combined resource-recovery/remediation ELFM methods with the “Do-Nothing”, “Classic remediation” and “Classic landfill mining with (co-)incineration” scenarios. By training the ESRs in scientific, technical and soft skills, they become highly sought-after scientists and engineers for the rapidly emerging landfill-mining and broader raw-materials industries of Europe. More info: https://new-mine.eu/