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LIFE, the EU funding tool for the Environment Since 1992, LIFE has contributed to the implementation, updating and development of EU envi- ronmental policy and legislation by co-financing pilot or demonstration projects with European added value. In the waste sector, LIFE has supported initiatives that reduce the negative impact of waste on the environment and public health and ensure the most efficient use of natural resources. LIFE & waste and landfill management The EUROPEAN WEEK OF WASTE REDUCTION (EWWR+) aims to reduce the amount of municipal waste generated in Europe through the involvement of citizens, authorities, businesses and other stakeholders in a series aware- ness-raising and waste prevention programmes. All these actions take place during one single week every year. Stakeholders – both private and public – are invited to submit proposals for waste-reduction activities in one of six categories: administration/public author- ity, association/NGO, business/industry, educational organisations, citizen and others (e.g. hospitals, re- tirement homes and cultural centres). The proposals are assessed and monitored by the EWWR+ organ- isers, who identify best practices in each of the six categories, recognised through an award scheme. In particular, the project organises the following actions: • European Week for Waste Reduction: thousands of actions on waste reduction, product reuse and materials recycling. • Prevention Thematic Days focusing on one specific waste prevention topic per year. • The European Clean-Up Day. • EWWR awards aiming to reward the most out- standing actions carried out in each EWWR edition. From 2009 to 2014 the project has supported over 48 000 initiatives in Europe and beyond, and will continue until at least 2017. EWWR+ LIFE12 ENV/BE/000459 The NorthPestClean LIFE project dem- onstrated that in-situ alkaline hydrolysis is a cost-effective soil decontamination remediation technology for pesticide landfills. The project tested this method at ‘Gyrone 42’, a disposal site polluted with around 260 tonnes of mainly organophosphorus pesticides. In particular the proposed technology consists of an on-site treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) in metallic cells in order to clean up the soil and groundwater. The tested method proved to be more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly compared to tradition- al techniques such as excavation and thermal re- mediation. In fact, in-situ alkaline hydrolysis scored better in terms of acidification, ozone formation and CO 2 emissions. Regarding the economic feasibility of the technology, implementation costs of the North- PestClean method are estimated to be €6-9 million – depending on the site characteristics – compared to €15-53 million with traditional technologies. This new technology has a high transferability potential and is ready to be applied by Member States. Its implementation may facilitate a decrease in the cost of soil restoration whilst contributing to the implementation of the Commission’s Soil Thematic Strategy and, at the same time, improving soil restoration and environmental protection. NorthPestClean LIFE09 ENV/DK/000368 FENIX developed a user-friendly and flexible LCA soſtware tool for assessing and improving the man- agement by municipalities of packaging waste. The tool developed uses a life cycle thinking (LCT) ap- proach, allowing users to change some parameters in order to adapt the model to their own situation. Some of these parameters include: amount of waste generated; type of truck used for the trans- port; number of containers; distance between con- tainers; distance between the municipality and the treatment plant; percentages allocated to each treatment (selection, incineration, landfill, etc.), and the efficiencies in sorting plants. A specific database on waste treatment processes and recycling tech- nologies, which is integrated in the soſtware, was also developed. Training and pilot tests of the tool were carried out in 10 Spanish and 5 Portuguese municipalities. The system was also assessed by 13 partners expe- rienced in LCA and waste management from eight regions of Spain and three from Portugal. The tool is available free of charge from the pro- ject’s website in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The project produced a user manual and a video to provide the necessary guidance regarding its use. The FENIX model can easily be adapted to other waste streams with minor adaptations and at no major cost, actively contributing to the compliance of EU targets on collection and recycling. FENIX LIFE08 ENV/E/000135 The GHERL project demonstrated an innovative technology for capturing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from landfill gas in a final stable and solid form. Solid waste disposal on land accounts for some 2.4% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions. The project developed a pilot plant to demonstrate the new technology. This consisted of a packed col- umn in which an aqueous solution of potassium hy- droxide (KOH) comes into contact with the CO 2 con- tained in the landfill gas. The KOH and CO 2 react, forming potassium carbonate (K 2 CO 3 ), which can be recovered in solid form. This methodology was found to be efficient in capturing 96.7% of the CO 2 present in the landfill gas, representing a reduction of 8-10% Nm 3 . The project also carried out a comprehensive evalu- ation of the market potential of the process that concluded that: • The application of the process does not require the development of special devices since most of the required components are fairly market standard. • The GHERL process can be used for any source of CO 2 , such as biogas from anaerobic digestion. • The technology could be used for the production and sale of K 2 CO 3 , a product that has applications in a number of sectors. Substituting the new meth- od for traditional means of producing K 2 CO 3 will reduce the amount of methane needed as a pri- mary fuel, while revenue for sales of K 2 CO 3 could cover investment and running costs. GHERL LIFE05 ENV/IT/000874 WASTE PREVENTION REDUCING GHG EMISSIONS DECISION-SUPPORT TOOLS RESTORING LANDFILLS Photo: LIFE07 INF/F/000185 Photo: wikimedia.org Photo: LIFE09 ENV/DK/000368 Photo: LIFE08 ENV/E/000135 Visit the LIFE website: ec.europa.eu/life © European Union, 2016 Environment poster-landfill-updated.indd 1 26/09/16 18:33
