EnviroMail 138 Australia - Landfill Waste Classification and Waste Definitions

‘Clean fill’ is defined in the Waste Definitions to mean raw and excavated natural material such as clay, gravel, sand, soil, or rock files that:

Table 6 of the WA Landfill Guidelines details Maximum Concentrations (thresholds) of relevant chemical substances and limits of relevant physical attributes for uncontaminated fill. For a sample to be considered uncontaminated the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation requires both the total concentration and leaching tests to assess the quality of the fill material.

Table 7 of the WA Landfill Guidelines, the minimum sampling and testing standards for uncontaminated fill, allows for testing of substances based on land use history and statistical evaluation of the laboratory results. This includes a reference to the list of potentially contaminating activities, industries, and land uses (Appendix B) of the Assessment and Management of Contaminated Sites document (DER 2014). Therefore, Appendix B is key to determining what tests are relevant from Table 6.

ALS has created several packages to assess the criteria laid out in Table 6 of the guidelines. The P-19/4 packages meet the requirements stipulated by the Maximum Concentrations and the P-19/5 packages meet the requirements of the Leaching tests. See Tables 1 and 2 below for a list of package inclusions. If you require a variation, please contact Client Services to receive a project specific quotation.  

Table 1. Uncontaminated Fill Soil Analytical Requirements (Total Concentrations)

Potentially contaminated soil in Western Australia destined for disposal via landfill must be classified as Class I, II, III, IV or V (WA DWER Landfill Waste Classification and Waste Definitions December 2019). To categorise the soil, total concentrations of specified analytes are compared against the upper limits of the Contaminant Thresholds (CT -Table 3) and Concentration Limits (CL - Table 4) where CT values are absent. To cater to these analytical requirements ALS has the following packages displayed in Table 2 which can be utilised.

 

Table 3. Contaminant threshold (CT) values for waste not requiring a leach test.

Automated Comparison Reporting

The ALS generated Guideline Report presents the laboratory results against selected guideline limits. The report assists by removing the need for manual comparison of a large number of data points. Additionally, a summary of all breaches is presented at the beginning of the report (see Figure 2 example). The aim of this report is to assist ALS clients with accurate and rapid assessment, facilitating on-site management options or further classification analysis as required (e.g., ASLP determination). To receive this report, simply request the report format ‘GL_Generic Test’ on the chain of custody accompanying the samples.

Figure 1. Summary of guidelines reached or exceeded

Figure 2. Example tabulation of results in comparison to WA DWER Landfill Waste Classification contaminant threshold

Get in touch with us

If you have any questions relating to landfill waste classification and waste definitions, please contact:
Brisbane
Sydney
Melbourne
Perth

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