GAIRLOCH LEACHATE TREATMENT PLANT

Environmental Services Department, Ross & Cromarty District Council (now Highland Council)
Gairloch Site 'C' Landfill Gairloch, Ross-shire, (near Ullapool)
Operational: May 1993 to date.

Gairloch Site 'C' is a small landfill of about 2.3 hectares, situated in a former gravel and rock quarry in the lower slopes of a glacial valley.

Treatment of up to 30 m3/d of leachate is carried out in a small tank-based extended aeration Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) plant. Effluent from this plant is polished by spraying over an area of peat nearby, prior to disposal into a very high quality stream.

Aspinwall (now Enviros) undertook all consultancy work for the project. Detailed research studies of treatment performance, supported by the Scottish Office Environment Department, have shown successful removal of all significant leachate contaminants, including ammoniacal nitrogen, iron and zinc.