In 2004, EnviroServ commissioned a pre-feasibility assessment to determine the potential for commercial landfill methane recovery at their landfill sites. This involved the prediction of potential methane gas quantities through a uniform gas generation model based on estimates of historical waste volumes. It therefore only represented a theoretical potential for methane generation. Verification of the gas quantity and gas quality was therefore required to improve the understanding of gas generation and to determine the feasibility of active landfill gas recovery and to investigate the potential for a Clean Development Mechanism project under the Kyoto Protocol.

A pilot phase was therefore required, which involved the installation of a limited number of wells and one flare. The purpose of the pilot project was to obtain a better understanding of the landfill gas yield and quality. High levels of methane were observed in the landfill gas, which is indicative of high rates of biogas generation. The gas flow data suggest that there is sufficient landfill gas generation at the EnviroServ Chloorkop landfill site to warrant a full-scale landfill gas recovery system.

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