Landfill survey.
Drone volumetrics. Remaining void. Restoration profiles.
A landfill survey is a measured topographic capture of a waste site, flown by UAV photogrammetry or LiDAR and differenced against the permitted contours or an earlier epoch to report remaining void, waste placed in the period, cap and restoration profile and settlement. Angell Surveys Ltd, RICS-regulated and working UK-wide, delivers landfill surveys for waste operators, their engineers and their permit returns, with every volume issued with its reference surface and confidence band.
In-depth guide: Landfill Surveys & Volumetric Analysis in Waste Management →
What is a landfill survey?
A landfill survey records the surface of a waste site as a georeferenced digital terrain model and compares it with a reference surface: the permitted final contours, the engineered base, the approved restoration profile or the previous survey. From that comparison the operator gets the figures the site runs on: remaining void, waste placed since the last survey, cover material held in stockpile, and how the cap is settling.
Outputs feed the filling plan, the annual permit return, closure and aftercare planning, and the restoration sign-off. The same capture produces the orthomosaic, contours and CAD drawing the site engineer needs for cell design, leachate and gas infrastructure as-builts and slope checks.
Angell Surveys is a RICS-regulated practice (Firm 681790). We use the same control, check-point and volumetric workflow on landfill that we run for quarry and mine surveys and for weekly earthworks volumetric monitoring on UK infrastructure sites.
What we deliver.
Remaining Void & Airspace
Current surface differenced against the permitted pre-settlement contours, by cell and site-wide. Reported with the reference surface, point density and a confidence band, in a form that goes straight into the annual permit return.
Waste Placed per Period
Epoch-to-epoch differencing against the same permanent control network gives the volume placed since the last survey, for reconciliation with weighbridge records and the filling plan.
Cap & Restoration Profile
As-built cap surface compared with the approved restoration contours: areas above or below profile, slope gradients, ponding and the volume of material needed to reach the design.
Settlement Monitoring
Repeat capture of closed and restored cells to map settlement over time. UAV LiDAR gives a bare-earth surface through grass and scrub on vegetated caps.
Cover & Engineering Stockpiles
Volumes of daily cover, clay, restoration soils and aggregate held on site, measured against a surveyed base in the same flight as the cell survey.
Orthomosaic, Contours & CAD
Georeferenced orthomosaic, contour drawing and DWG/DXF on OSGB36 for cell design, infrastructure as-builts and boundary checks. Radiometric aerial thermal imaging of the cap surface can be flown alongside where required.
How we work.
Control & Reference
Permanent ground control set outside the active footprint and tied to the National Grid. Permitted contours, engineered base and restoration profile loaded as reference surfaces.
Capture
UAV photogrammetry over open cells and working areas; UAV LiDAR over vegetated caps and restored ground. Independent check points re-observed on every visit. Site operations normally continue.
Processing & Volumetrics
Point cloud classified, DTM built and differenced against each reference surface. Remaining void, waste placed, stockpiles and settlement reported with a confidence band.
Issue
Volumetric report, contour drawing, orthomosaic, DTM and CAD files issued to the operator and its engineer, with the accuracy statement and check-point residuals for the permit return.
How accurate is a drone landfill volume survey?
A landfill volume is the difference between two surfaces, so its uncertainty follows from the accuracy band each surface was captured to (RICS, 2014) and from how the reference surface is defined: the permitted contours, the engineered base or a previous epoch. UAV photogrammetry on open waste and cover achieves RICS Band D or E on hard detail; LiDAR is used where vegetation covers the cap. We report each volume with the point cloud density, the reference surface used and a confidence band, not a single figure.
Where this method has limits.
Volumetrics are only as reliable as the two surfaces and the assumptions between them.
Reference surface
Remaining void depends on the permitted contours and cell boundaries supplied by the operator. We state which drawing and revision the figure was calculated against.
What the air cannot see
Material beneath temporary cover sheets, under plant or inside buildings is not captured from above. The engineered base is taken from as-built records, not re-surveyed.
Volume is not tonnage
Waste density varies with type, compaction and moisture. We report volume and the density used; weighbridge reconciliation gives the achieved in-situ density.
Timing and conditions
Active tipping, cover placement and wind affect capture; survey timing is agreed with the site manager to match the reporting period.
Angell Surveys delivers this service across the UK from a London base, under RICS regulation, with the same documented control, check-point verification and QA on every project. Accuracy is specified and reported against the band table in RICS Measured Surveys of Land, Buildings and Utilities, 3rd edition (RICS, 2014), using independent check points rather than advertised figures.
Landfill survey questions.
What is a landfill survey?
How is remaining void or airspace calculated?
How often should an operational landfill be surveyed?
Can you survey a restored or capped landfill with vegetation?
Do you convert landfill volumes to tonnage?
Are you RICS regulated?
Landfill survey, scoped and quoted within one business day.
Most scoping responses sent within one business day.
RICS-regulated work, led by Philip M. Angell MRICS.