WRG uses MCERTS to add value to management of landfill sites

Slough, UK - Waste management services company Waste Recycling Group (WRG) manages more than 100 operational and closed landfill sites. The company has recently started bringing all its flow measurement systems up to the MCERTS  (Monitoring Certification Scheme) standard, and in doing so, is discovering that accurate flow data is a valuable business and planning tool.

The MCERTS scheme was set up by the UK Environment Agency (EA) to provide a framework of standards that could be used to monitor processes that affect the environment. It covers a wide range of parameters, but its main focus is on the quality and quantity of liquid waste produced by a site and discharged into the sewer or watercourse.

Water companies have been legally bound to comply with the MCERTS regulations since 2004, and the EA is now rolling out the scheme to other producers of effluent. By the end of this year, all sites which have a Consent to Discharge under the Water Resources Act 1991 or a permit under the Pollution, Prevention and Control (PPC) regulations will have to show compliance with the scheme.

MCERTS requires dischargers to be able to show that their effluent measurement system is accurate to within +/- 8%. WRG[EPM1] is already ahead of the game, auditing its landfill sites and bringing their flow measurement up to MCERTS standards.

WRG's Leachate Treatment Plant compliance manager Lorna Gibbs runs a series of treatment plants that treat the leachate that is generated at WRG’s landfill sites before it is discharged to sewer or river as appropriate.

“We were first prompted to look into the MCERTS standards because of demands from the water companies,” explains Gibbs. “They wanted assurances about the performance of our measurement systems. We quickly realised we could address their requirements and our own legal obligations in one go by bringing our sites up to MCERTS standards.”

Gibbs brought in an MCERTS inspector to start the auditing process. For those sites that did not meet the standard, she has commissioned Emerson Process Management’s Slough-based Mobrey Measurement division to provide a complete MCERTS compliant flow measurement package.

“The existing flow measurement installation at each WRG site was different,” explains Andy Bidston of Emerson. “We came up with the idea of providing them with a ‘standard’ MCERTS-compliant system that could be tailored to the requirements of each site and each PPC permit. This would make it easier for WRG to log and process the data, and it makes maintenance simpler too.”

WRG chose to work with the Emerson team because it could provide a complete end-to-end service, including assessment of each site, specification of the system and installation. The team also includes MCERTS inspectors, who can audit the site at the end of the job and issue an MCERTS compliance certificate.

The system they designed consists of a self-calibrating Rosemount magmeter and a combined controller and data logging unit, the Mobrey MCULOG. The flow meter is accurate to within 0.5%, and the system is set up to collect data in a suitable format for reporting to EA. The Mobrey MCULOG is configured to display instantaneous flow rate in cubic metres per hour, and the daily total in cubic metres. The on-board data logger stores 7000 readings corresponding to 15-minute average flow, and the daily total, in line with EA requirements.

The new systems have been installed on three WRG sites at Macclesfield, Wigan and Birmingham, and six more projects are already in the pipeline.

Commercial benefits

Effluent treatment is big business. WRG’s annual bill from the water companies is significant, and since the charge depends on the volume of water treated, it is easy to see how it is in everybody’s interest to have reliable flow measurement in place.

“Old flow meters that have not been well maintained over the years tend to read high. Effluent producers who do not check their instrumentation risk paying over the odds,” said Bidston.

Further added value for WRG comes from the accurate data that they are now able to gather using the new instrumentation. For Lorna Gibbs, this means more accurate planning for new treatment plants and upgrades.

“Now that we have the systems in and running, it is has become much more than a simple compliance issue, she says “I can use this data to create a model for planning effective treatment of landfill leachate. It means our planning is based on real, up-to-date information that is much more accurate than anything we have had before.”

[EPM1]Deleted sentence sounds vaguely political or opinion?