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Zoomlion Selects ClosureTurf® for Two Landfill Closures in Ghana

ZoomlionAtlanta, GA- August 3, 2020– Watershed Geo LLC and Zoomlion Ghana Ltd announce a global partnership to close two landfills with the ClosureTurf® final cover system as part of efforts to improve overall environmental infrastructure in Ghana.  The two landfills include the Kpone Landfill, a 33-acre landfill located in coastal Tema, a metropolitan district of the capital city Accra, and the Oti Landfill, a 44-acre landfill which is located in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti region.

The projects are currently under a design-build construction contract with Zoomlion and an international team of Watershed and Geosyntec Consultants working together.  Dr. Kwasi Badu-Tweneboah, P.E., D.GE, a Ghanaian-born Principal based in the Geosyntec Jacksonville, Florida office is leading the design efforts.

“We now have over 2,500 acres installed in North America and we have worked diligently to take our patented technology global,” says Mike Ayers, CEO of Watershed Geo. “Watershed has made inroads with installation in Europe of its revetment and hard armoring product, HydroTurf®, but these projects represent the first international use of of ClosureTurf. We couldn’t be more honored to have Zoomlion as our first international waste management client.  Our corporate and personal values align, and most importantly, we get to play an important role in reshaping the country’s disposal practices with the new standard for closure containment and long-term care.”

The governmental leadership in Ghana has helped create one of the fastest growing economies in the world, particularly sub-Sharan Africa, and is working to significantly improve the environmental and energy infrastructure including using geosynthetics for sustainable development of the nation.

Zoomlion is one of the largest waste management companies in Africa.  The company manages more than 21 waste sites and is well known for their commitment to provide top quality services while improving the environmental conditions through investments in technology.   Considered critical to the economy, Zoomlion is helping to work towards a sustainable plan in Africa that includes putting value on their human capital, intellectual capital and financial capital.

For Zoomlion’s two landfill closures, the company considered traditional closure methods but after thorough evaluation and community input, ultimately chose ClosureTurf due to its ability to provide state-of-the art technology as a way to improve the management of solid waste in Ghana.  The installations in Ghana aim to serve as an example to lead West Africa on best management practices for providing the best environmental and sustainable infrastructure for both industries and citizens.

“ClosureTurf is a unique technology that strategically fits Zoomlion’s mission”, says Ayers. “The system works to improve environmental factors for the community, is a smart technology that improves geotechnical factors, prevents erosion failures for clean water runoff and saves major resources on long-term maintenance.”

ClosureTurf is a final closure system that uses engineered synthetic turf and specified infill on top of a structured geomembrane layer to stabilize soils and keeps slopes in place.  This composite system that makes up ClosureTurf eliminates borrow soil, reduces construction time, and provides many geotechnical and environmental benefits that make sense for the maintenance of the post closure life that an owner is responsible for. Typically, maintenance activities are reduced by more than 90%.

The positive environmental impacts of ClosureTurf include reducing overall gas emissions and odor issues.  Because soil loss from water runoff is virtually eliminated with ClosureTurf®, the result is very low turbidity and overall water quality improvement. This aids in keeping local water sources clean.

“This will be one of our most exciting projects to date,” says Ayers.  “We hope to continue to support Zoomlion’s admirable and world-changing efforts well into the future.”

About Watershed Geo

Watershed Geo is an environmental and civil solutions company offering a broad range of products for landfill management and erosion control. Through best-in-class materials and extreme engineering, Watershed Geo products deliver improved performance and reduced environmental impact while limiting the long-term costs associated with landfill management and revetment projects. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga. and can be found on the web at WatershedGeo.com and on LinkedIn.

About Zoomlion

Zoomlion Ghana Limited is a giant in the waste management as well as environmental sanitation business in Ghana and Africa as a whole. The company was formed under the company’s Act in January 2006.

The company which was formed in 2006 as Zoomlion Ghana Limited with a few numbers of staff has now grown over the past seven years. It now has a total core staff of 3,000 and manages over 85,000 workers under various forms of Public Private Partnerships (PPP). Zoomlion also operates in other African countries such as Togo, Angola, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Liberia while negotiations are far advanced for the company to start operations in other African countries such as Sierra Leone and Southern Sudan.

Zoomlion Ghana Limited seeks first and foremost to satisfy clients and customers by continuously improving upon operations to make them cost-effective. Zoomlion Ghana Limited is committed to building long-lasting relationship with our private sector customers (industry, etc.), Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of central Government, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly (MMDAs) or local Authorities, and the communities they serve not excluding their competitors in the industry, who we would prefer to refer to as partners in the business of keeping Africa and Ghana clean, green, healthy and salubrious.

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