NEA aims to mine Semakau Landfill waste for Tuas Port

Mixed materials may be used as alternative to sand for reclamation, freeing up landfill

- Shabana Begum

About one-tenth of the materials needed to reclaim land for Tuas Port Phase 3 could come from Semakau Landfill, freeing up a large portion of the country's only landfill.

Within the next five years or so, the National Environment Agency (NEA) aims to mine the landfill waste, possibly mix it with cement and use it as an alternative to sand for the reclamation, The Sunday Times has learnt.

The plan is to excavate about 10 million cubic m of landfill waste, which is about 35 per cent of the 28 million cubic m that Semakau can hold. Tuas Port Phase 3 which is being planned - will need more than 100 million cubic m of reclamation fill.

In response to queries from ST, NEA said it is working with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore to study the use of mixed materials from Semakau Landfill for reclamation. "Mixed materials" refers to materials such as incineration bottom ash and sludge sludge that are wastewater dumped together into the landfill.

"If mixed materials could be used as reclamation fill, the requirement for conventional fill material such as sand can be reduced and space at Semakau Landfill freed up," said NEA.

At current waste disposal rates, Semakau is expected to be filled up by 2035.

NEA is looking for a multidisciplinary consultancy to design the mega-project and possibly provide supervision services throughout the entire mining period, which is expected to be between 2027 and 2029.

A civil and environmental engineering professor who studied the waste in the landfill had said previously that waste that is more similar in quality to fresh incineration ash can be easily washed, chemically treated or gasified.