Benefits

Environmental Benefits

Diverting waste from landfills
Around half of the 6m tonnes of Coal Ash produced by the UK power stations is recycled through the concrete and construction industry, the rest is needlessly disposed of in huge landfill sites, often co-located next to the existing coal-fired power stations.

Many former landfill sites have no containment or containment which is failing. Such sites need to be both reengineered and restored. The creation of Lichen Renewal's low permeability cap and overlying new soil horizons are an innovative way of utilising Coal Ash and saving it from simply being thrown away.

The structure of Lichen Renewal's design provides a sustainable use for organic household and business waste. This can be an important service for the local area and it ensures this valuable resource is utilised.

Utilising landfill gases
There are currently many historic uncapped and failing-capped landfill sites in the UK which emit thousands of tonnes of methane. The global warming potential of methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide when released into the atmosphere. Achieving a significant reduction in such emissions is crucial to meeting or exceeding Britain's CO2 targets. Instead of allowing greenhouse gas to escape, Lichen's technology provides a means through which it utilised, making a significant contribution to lowering the UK CO2 budget.

Table showing the changing Global Warming Potential (GWP) of Methane over time. GWP is a figure used to demonstrate how potent different greenhouse gases are compared to Carbon Dioxide.

Economic Benefits

Boost to local economy
Lichen Renewal estimate that around 30 construction jobs, 50 permanent jobs and 100 indirect jobs will, on average, be created from every site. Over many sites this could mean creating over a thousand jobs in the green economy.

Exporting UK technology
Lichen is a British company, and its unique technology can be transferred and exported internationally. The problems from former landfill sites are not solely a UK problem, but it is a UK solution.

Saving the taxpayer
Local authorities, who are required to continue to monitor and manage the legacy of former landfill sites, will free themselves of their ongoing financial burden and free resources to deploy elsewhere within the community. Local authorities can spend up to £100,000 p/a on landfill gas and leachate monitoring and control at one site. We can remove that cost, as well as provide areas of regeneration, adding to the value of the surrounding land.

Social Benefits

Land regeneration
Lichen can ensure landfill sites are quickly transformed to be used for a variety of purposes. These include recreational grounds (such as Lichen's Hill on the Heath project in Hounslow), renewable energy, or agricultural use. The result is the creation of positive community benefits and better places to live.

Electricity and Heat Generation
Through utilising landfill gas, organic waste and a variety of micro generation options available, Lichen can create electricity for local industry or households. In addition, heat that is produced when generating electricity can be recycled for use in local projects e.g. greenhouses.