Envitech Solutions (Pty) Ltd was appointed by the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) to design, project manage and provide site supervision for the construction of the new Devon landfill for the Lesedi Local Municipality in October 2016.

Previous studies were carried out by various consultants going as far back as 2009, namely, EIA studies, public participation, feasibility studies, preliminary designs and a waste licence application.

The project included for a phased development of the new landfill site, together with its appurtenant infrastructure namely leachate collection system, leachate containment system, leachate leak detection system, contaminated storm water system, clean water diversion system, contaminated storm water pond, access road, material recovery facility (MRF), weighbridge, administration office, ablution facilities and perimeter fence.

In accordance with the Norms and Standards, general municipal waste (which includes domestic waste) is classified as Type 2 waste, and is regulated to be disposed of at a Class B landfill.

Recovery, recycling and environmental awareness

Provision was also made for a materials recovery facility (MRF) on site as part of a local economic development initiative through recycling in line with international trends and increased environmental awareness.

The MRF consisted of a 24m x 12m steel portal frame structure with a one metre high brick wall, concrete floors, power ports, lighting and access ramps. This structure was provided to serve as a basic material recovery facility to facilitate the manual recovery of waste streams.

The technical specifications and a strict construction quality assurance (CQA) programme were developed as part of the project contract documentation to ensure that the construction met with all the required design standards.

Construction of the project was successfully carried out by Interwaste (Pty) Ltd over an eight month period and finally handed over to the client on 7 June 2018.

Project Team

Client – GGDA: Project Manager, Civil Engineering Specialist – Haneshree Chegwidden
Consulting Engineers – Envitech Solutions: Design Engineer/Project Manager – Tellmore Masocha
Contractor – Interwaste: Site Agent – JP Delamotte