The UK ELFM network brings together academic, industrial and public sector experts working in related fields. The aim of the network is to develop an active and engaged community through which a multidisciplinary vision and research agenda associated with enhanced landfill mining will be developed. The UK ELFM network will lead the UK’s innovation and accelerate knowledge transfer across the sector.
Landfill mining and remediation capability within the UK is developing, but “landfill mining“ is not a new concept. In recent years a growing interest is evident in ELFM for site remediation, resource recovery and energy production. In addition to resource recovery, ELFM enables land reclamation. ELFM is defined as the excavation and integrated valorisation of landfilled waste streams as both materials (Waste-to-Material) and energy (Waste-to-Energy), using innovative transformation technologies and respecting the most stringent social and ecological criteria. ELFM is part of a wider view of a circular economy and is complementary to urban mining and recycling in general.
The priority for ELFM, causing disruption to long-closed landfill sites, would include:
- Recover valuable materials whilst reducing long-term pollution risks from the sites, fitting with the focus on critical raw materials and the circular economy;
- Proactively deal with future high-risk sites, such as those which are likely to be affected by climate change (e.g. flooding), coastal erosion or developments (e.g. HS2);
- Remediate the land for development of housing or commercial buildings.
