New government-funded research shows it is possible to restore landfill sites by turning them into greenspace, such as woodland, parkland or farmland.
A common solution is for coun-cils to close over landill sites with a compacted clay cap to seal up the waste. But a 10-year research project into the establishment of woodland on landfill shows these areas can be restored safely by planting certain trees, as long as strict safeguards are adhered to.
Until recently, government guidelines discouraged establishing trees and woodland on landfill because of concerns the trees might not grow deep enough, and if they did, they might pierce the ‘cap’, letting out landfill gases.
In 1993 the Government acknowledged that further evidence and reassurances were needed to determine whether this could be done safely.
The Forestry Commission was asked to establish and monitor a number of experimental sites, which were specially engineered to control pollution using the dense compacted landfill cap with a thick layer of soil for tree roots.
The new Forest Research report, funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government, reveals that good tree growth on these landfill sites has been achieved and that vegetation is a vital part of their restoration. Woodland planting can now be recommended as long as the underlying mineral cap is constructed to standards required by government guidance.
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