Singapore's Pulau Semakau

What if I told you that this picture of resort-like island which is actually a tourist spot, with coral reefs and clean water is an actual garbage dump?

Singapore's Pulau Semakau disposes off their garbage in the most fascinating way. In an actual 'island' which is the world's first ecological offshore landfill.

This landfill is specially designed by engineers and environmentalists from Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA).

  The Semakau Landfill is Singapore's first and only landfill situated offshore among the southern islands of Singapore. It covers a total area of 3.5 square kilometres and has a capacity of 63 million m³. To create the required landfill space, a 7 km perimeter rock bund was built to enclose a part of the sea between Pulau Semakau and Pulau Sakeng. As of August 2011[update] it was estimated that the landfill, which began operations on 1 Apr 1999, will last until 2045.The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, along with the National Environment Agency which manages the landfill, hopes this deadline will be extended through various waste minimisation and resource conservation initiatives.

Today, after years of operation, the replanted mangrove, and remaining natural habitats on the island are doing well. Even the closed cells, topped up with soil, are flourishing. Birds can be seen in the air and on the open landscape, fishes swim in and out of the lagoons, and marine life continues to thrive in the mangrove mudflats and the western shorelines of Pulau Semakau.

Semakau LandfillSemakau Landfill is located about 8km south of Singapore. A 7km perimeter rock bund encloses part of the sea off Pulau Semakau and Pulau Sakeng to create the space for the landfill. The bund is lined with impermeable membrane and a layer of marine clay, ensuring that leachate from the refuse is contained in the landfill. Ancillary facilities were built to ensure that the landfill operation is self-sustainable. Visits to the Semakau Landfill or one of the waste-to-energy plants can be arranged by sending us request. The landfilling process at Semakau Landfill: Upon arriving at Semakau Landfill, the barge berths at the enclosed transfer building. The tugboat then disengages itself and returns to TMTS with an emptied barge.Large excavators with interchangeable and specially designed grabs unload the solid waste from the barge. The solid waste is then placed onto a 35-tonne payload off-road dump.A 10m wide paved roadway along the top of the perimeter bund provides access to all sections of the landfill. The dump trucks travel to a designated tipping site and unloads the incinerated ash and non-incinerable waste into the landfill cell. Bulldozers and compactors then level and compact the incinerated ash and non-incinerable waste. Each cell is covered with a layer of earth once it has been filled to ground level. Subsequently, grass and trees take root to form a green landscape. A new tipping cell is activated by sealing off the concrete pipes that connect the cell to the sea. An empty space into which solid waste will be dumped is created.

Pulau Semakau (or Semakau Island) is located to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. The Semakau Landfill is located on the eastern side of the island, and was created by the amalgamation of Pulau Sakeng (also known as Pulau Seking), and "anchored" to Pulau Semakau. The Semakau Landfill is Singapore's first offshore landfill and now the only remaining landfill in Singapore.[1]

Renovating landfills for public use is nothing new. In New York, the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, which closed in 2001, will reopen as a park that is expected to be completed around 2035. In 1994, Japan turned an old landfill southwest of Osaka into Kansai International Airport, the world’s first ocean airport.

The final works saw a 7km-long perimeter rock bund (wall) completed to enclose a part of the sea between Pulau Semakau and Pulau Sakeng. This allowed a massive 3.5 square km contained area to be created, with a projected total capacity of more than 60 million cubic metres. Rubbish began to arrive at Pulau Semakau in April 1999, and at current estimates the island will continue to swallow Singapore’s rubbish until it is full up in 2045.

One advantage of the system used at Semakau is that as much of the waste is delivered in the form of incinerated ash, the problem of methane generation from decaying organic matter has largely been eliminated. “This is not to say that the ash is completely inert,” noted one observer. “Singapore experiences high rainfall and the landfill pits could theoretically overflow. This means it is necessary to have a leachate treatment plant on Semakau to avoid contamination of surrounding water ways.”

However, Singapore’s NEA is keen to point out that the Semakau project also opens up possibilities for positive sustainability and research. Pulau Semakau and the neighbouring area is already home to the largest barramundi farm in Singapore, run by Kühlbarra; the location was chosen for its strong current and high oxygen content, necessary for healthy fish growth.The NEA has also investigated the possibility of turning some 90 hectares of the island into a self-sustaining eco-park. If the project comes to full fruition, it would see test-bedding of renewable and clean technologies such as wind, solar, tidal power, fuel cells, desalination, renewable clean fuel and more. As a first step, in 2017, Singapore’s largest wind turbine was set up on the island, along with a linked solar generation plant to provide much of the island’s power needs. Not bad for a rubbish tip!

Thanks to Singapore's mind-blowing efficiency, this landfill attracts a lot of rare species of birds and animals. In fact, it is one of the best places in Singapore for bird-watching.

In a world where the ecosystem is dying by the minute, this brings rays of hope that we might just be able to save it.