To reach climate targets, industries need to accelerate the transition towards a climate-resilient, resource efficiency, low-carbon, and circular economy. Started in July 2021, the 42 months LIFE GREEN ADAPT project will increase the resilience of EU waste infrastructures to climate change by the application of green and nature-based solutions.
The project will focus on landfills as a potential source of severe pollution episodes when impacted by extreme weather events by demonstrating the potential of blue-green infrastructures (BGI) and ecosystem-based approaches. LIFE GREEN ADAPT will demonstrate the ability of BGI to manage flash flooding and run-off caused by heavy rainfall and prevent fires and explosions caused by droughts and unusual heat waves.
The LIFE GREEN ADAPT achieve this through (i) the development of novel bio-technosoils made of different wastes from the landfill to stabilise, recover and increase the soil quality by regulating nutrient supply and improving soil structure; and (ii) the engineering and construction of a set of innovative treatment wetlands for landfill polluted leachate and run-off water will deliver quality water, enhancing water reuse (e.g., for landfill irrigation) or discharge into natural courses. All the solutions developed in the project will be implemented at an industrial demonstration site located in the North-West of Spain to validate the potential of the BGI and ecosystem-based approaches and verify their performance under a real-scale landfill scenario. LIFE GREEN ADAPT will also support the transition to a resource-efficient and low-carbon economy by reducing water consumption and green-house gas emissions in the waste sector.
This article was originally published on Smart Water Magazine. View the rest of the article here.