Dust Control – Soil Stabilization – Erosion Control

Archive for the ‘landfills’ Category

The Department of Energy plans to start work today to excavate the historic landfills that hold day-to-day trash generated by more than 50,000 Hanford workers and their families during World War II.

Unlike most other environmental cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation, this trash will be checked for historical significance as it is unearthed.

“Information collected from the waste sites will be used to construct a social history of Hanford workers,” said Tom Marceau, cultural resources supervisor for Washington Closure Hanford, a DOE cleanup contractor.

The two landfills hold household trash from what once was the world’s largest trailer park and a sprawling camp of hutments, barracks and cafeterias to feed and house workers racing to produce plutonium for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, helping end the war. Read the rest of this entry »

Buena vista is dealing with a different problem that many landfills have. During a landfill closure a membrane is placed on the surface of the cap. This membrane is supposed to keep methane from leaking out into the atmosphere. The problem is that methane will seek the holes in the membrane and escape into the air. Then the landfill must find where the leak is coming from. That is a never ending chase of the ever elusive leak. With Top-Seal, if you ever have a leak in a general area, you simply apply a small amount to the area and roll it in. The leak will be repaired and the methane will stay where it is supposed to. The following story is a good example of what else can go wrong with a landfill.

WATSONVILLE – Leaking methane at the Buena Vista Landfill has prompted state regulators to add the facility to a black list of chronic violators.

A full report of the problem is still being compiled, but officials with the California Integrated Waste Management Board confirmed Friday that emissions of methane gas have exceeded standards for months, forcing the agency to downgrade the status of the county-run site last week to noncompliance.

The listing, while providing little detail on the safety risk at the facility or its rural environs west of Highway 1, requires the county to commit to a quick fix. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cornejo & Sons construction and demolition landfill in south Wichita could grow two acres to the south under a permit application being examined by the state.

City zoning maps already assumed the area would be used as landfill.

But some city officials said they were caught off-guard by the proposed expansion because the council voted in April to cap the trash pile near its current height and have it close by Dec. 31, 2010. The height and closure date wouldn’t change.

Zoning for the two-acre expansion has been approved for years, but it was not widely discussed in April, when officials focused on the height of the trash pile.

Officials with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will explain the proposed landfill expansion and record public comments at 6 p.m. Sept. 30 at Jardine Middle School, 3550 Ross Parkway.

Vice Mayor Jim Skelton said the city probably can’t block the expansion, even though he would like to.

"KDHE needs to consider declining this permit because he has a bad record of complying with regulations," he said. "That’s a valid reason to decline the permit."

City and state inspectors have documented several violations of landfill regulations at the Cornejo site, 3299 Southeast Blvd. In February, a city environmental official reviewed state records and recommended the city not approve any expansion.

"Over 70 percent of the violations are recurring indicating that the facility cannot or will not comply with past inspection citations," a memo from the official said.

Ron Cornejo, co-owner of Cornejo & Sons, said the landfill did not have environmental problems and questioned where Skelton got his information.

"We don’t have any environmental issues," he said.

Kay Johnson, director of the city’s Environmental Services Department, said in an e-mail that city officials have not reviewed the state application. But also said that she understood that KDHE would develop a permit consistent with what council members approved.**

The Cornejo landfill has irritated people who live near it for years because trash and dirt blow into their neighborhoods. Cornejo employees have routinely gone out to pick up trash and have tried to cut down on the litter.

Neighborhood complaints grew earlier this year when The Eagle reported that the trash mound had grown about 60 feet beyond its permitted height.

City officials said it would probably do more harm than good to remove the debris, and council members approved a plan to cap the landfill close to its current height.

Some neighborhoods have noticed a dirt mound atop the waste pile. Cornejo confirmed that the mound was put there in preparation to close that part of the landfill.

The new 2-acre site would handle additional waste, then be closed at the end of 2010.

"This is the final step," he said.

Among the greatest ironies of President Barack Obama’s environmental policies is his federal budget proposal to "cap and trade" greenhouse gas emissions. The plan would roughly double electricity rates nationwide. It would weigh heavily on businesses during the worst recession since World War II, and about double all end-user utility costs. The irony stems from Obama’s oft-repeated promise on the campaign trail not to raise taxes on American families earning less than $250,000 annually. But "cap and trade" might be better termed "cap and tax" for the crushing tax impact it will have on Americans.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the proposed 2010 federal budget promote many potential "clean" and "renewable energy" projects. However, they ignore one of the most economical and environmentally friendly ways of improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon emissions: harnessing the potential energy of trash.

Read More Here http://www.rightsidenews.com/200908316264/energy-and-environment/harnessing-the-energy-of-trash.html

EUGENE, Ore.–  Federal law requires Lane County to put a cap on the landfill when it’s full.  But that’s not expected to be until 2087.

But, to reduce methane gas, the county is putting a cap on one portion of the landfill now.

A 16-acre parcel, filled with more than a million and a half tons of garbage, will be covered with a foot and a half layer of clay, followed by a thick plastic covering.

The project costs two million dollars, all of which is paid for by fees Lane County collected from solid waste disposal.

They should have called SCI and capped it for much less.

No different from many small towns in rural America, Powell has been slow to jump on the recycling bandwagon.
But with the closure of the local landfill on the horizon, it’s time for the city — possibly in partnership with Park County — to look at ways to further encourage reduction of solid waste. It’s now a financial issue as well as an environmental one.

While some large urban centers have had city-run curbside recycling programs in place since the late 1980s — now, nearly two decades later, residents of Powell are realizing the importance of reducing waste. As proof of that, the local recycling center is moving to a larger building to better handle the volume of recyclables coming in, and two enterprising women have started a curbside pick-up service to make it easier for homeowners and businesses to recycle. But we’re still lagging behind: One need only look at trash cans, full of aluminum cans and plastic and glass bottles, in public places throughout town for evidence.

Designated containers for recyclables on downtown streets and in other community gathering places is a start.

Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency has a program in place to help municipalities implement pay-as-you-throw systems for solid waste. According to the EPA Web site, those systems charge residents based on their trash volume, creating an incentive to throw away less and recycle more. The EPA says, on average, communities with pay-as-you-throw programs see waste reductions of 15 to 28 percent. That’s just one of many options.

Within our community, the possibilities to reduce waste extend beyond materials accepted at recycling centers.

Residents soon will be able to donate salvaged building materials to a new Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and, with the proper tools in place, grass clippings and tree branches could be reused as mulch in landscaping applications throughout the community.

While a city-wide change may be slow to take effect — and a significant cash outlay may be necessary — there’s no time like the present to begin exploring options. With rising landfill rates looming, any investment would be money well spent. And doing our part to help the environment has its own rewards as well. 

The resolution allows the borough to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the company as well as with Birdsall Services Group, which was designated as prospective remediator of the landfill.

Mayor Patricia Koloski had only praise for the companies, saying "they were the best we looked at."

"This is a company that I think is really good at what they do," Koloski said of Westfield. "Their resume is really above and beyond."

The two companies were chosen out of a batch of proposals submitted earlier this summer. They had actually submitted individual proposals, according to Borough Administrator Victoria Holmstrom.

"Westfield had the redevelopment strength, and Birdsall are experts on environmental issues, especially landfill closure," Holmstrom said. "So we asked the two to work together and they became a team."

Located on the edge of the borough and bordered by Grove Road and Woodlawn Avenue, the landfill was closed in the mid-1970s after years of being used for the disposal of demolition material and local household waste.

Previous proposals for the property had included converting the landfill into a sprawling recreational complex and then redeveloping the site of the borough’s current ball fields, which sit in the center of town.

Land Resource Solutions LLC completed an environmental investigation of the site, analyzing what contaminants, if any, are present. The company was interested in staying on to create a redevelopment plan for the landfill, but the borough elected instead to allow its contract to expire, opening the door for more developers to submit proposals.

NATIONAL PARK The long-defunct Robert Hawthorne Sanitary Landfill could eventually house a 30-acre field of solar panels, as well as over 130,000 square feet of office and retail space fronted along Grove Road, according to a proposal submitted by Westfield Energy.

The borough council recently passed a resolution designating Westfield Energy as prospective redeveloper of the closed landfill, the only undeveloped tract of land in the one-square-mile borough.

2 Next

Residents who take their garbage to the dump have a more efficient place to drop it off and reduce the amount going to the landfill.

A new solid waste and recycling facility on Mapleward Road opens today, and features easier access to sorting stations. The new site replaces the John Street location, which officially closed Monday night.

The new site includes paved roads to expanded collection stations, improved signage, a new weigh scale and a new administration centre. The operation is designed to make reducing landfill waste easier than in the past and decrease the amount of hazardous waste and recyclable material buried in the ground.

Once traffic enters the site, vehicles are split into two streams – private and registered commercial.

The private customer – residents dumping their own garbage – drive through the recycling and hazardous waste stations before being weighed at the kiosk. The next stop is the public waste disposal area where they can sort their metals, bulky items, soil or clean fill, clean wood and garbage into large bins. All loads have to be sorted before leaving home to make disposal easier, said landfill supervisor Rick Latta. Vehicles from cars to half-ton trucks can use the private disposal area.

“This makes utilizing the recycling and sorting of household garbage a lot easier because private vehicles won‘t have to drive up the dump face and they only pay upon exiting,” said Latta.

He added that if a private vehicle too big to drive through the scale shows up, staff will let the driver know and help them move their material to the appropriate bins.

Commercial vehicles drive through automated scales and are billed on the way out. Latta said this will improve traffic flow in and out of the site.

“At the John Street location, we had a lot of problems with traffic jams and people waiting in line on the road,” Latta said. “We could get 1,500 cars a day.

“The other problem was vehicles pulling over to drop off recyclables then losing their spot in line for the scales. Here we have a collector loop for overflow so no one has to sit at the side of the road anymore.”

He also pointed to the improved hazardous waste disposal area. There is a shed with padded floors to eliminate the dangers of leaking materials. Residents can get rid of paint, fluorescent bulbs, household cleaners and some computers and electronics. Radios and portable stereos aren‘t accepted.

Large appliances like refrigerators have to be freon-free before they can be accepted.
Construction continues at the site to finish up some details.
Meanwhile, the city has to decide what to do with the John Street site.
“We are still going to use the site for cold storage and come back at a later date to figure out what to do with the site,” said Pat Mauro, manager of the city‘s engineering department.
The landfill itself remains. Mauro said the site is moving eastward and he estimated it had a 200-year lifespan. The city has approval from the province to use it until 2025.
Rotting garbageto be turned into power

The City of Thunder Bay is hoping to produce something good from rotting garbage.
The city and Thunder Bay Hydro Renewable Power, a subsidiary of Thunder Bay Hydro, is working on a plan to turn methane gas from the city dump into green energy.
The city has to burn methane gas generated by decomposing garbage, said Pat Mauro, manager of the city‘s engineering department.

He said 85 wells will be drilled into the garbage area and piping will be fed through the landfill site. The network of pipes will collect methane gas and feed it into two generators, which will burn it to produce electricity.

“The city has to burn off the gas according to environmental standards,” Mauro said. “So we are entering into a partnership with Thunder Bay Hydro to manage these generators. They can generate electricity from the landfill and we sell it back to Ontario Power Generation and feed it into the existing grid.”

The generators will produce 3.2 megawatts of power annually, said Robert Mace, president of Thunder Bay Hydro.

“That would be enough energy to power 2,000 homes for one year,” Mace said.

GREENVILLE, Maine — Town officials are hoping the Department of Environmental Protection will allow the town to do a phased-in multiyear closure plan for the landfill that differs from the department’s schedule of compliance.

The DEP has requested the town formally submit a closing plan by Oct. 1, and begin the work by spring 2010. The town, on the other hand, hopes to get permission to close the grandfathered landfill in phases from 2010 to 2014, according to Town Manager John Simko.

Because the landfill is contaminating groundwater, the DEP in 2006 told the town it must file a closing plan in three years, but did leave the town a little wiggle room. If the town could show improvement in the groundwater quality within those three years, the DEP said it would entertain the continued use of the facility, which has a life span of at least 20 more years. But DEP officials also encouraged the town to put its resources toward closing the landfill and development of a transfer station.

The town and town’s engineer, Shawn Small of Civil Engineering Services Inc. of Brewer, thought it best to work on corrective actions for continued use of the facility, but those measures have failed to change the results. While the groundwater meets Maine clean drinking water parameters, it is not acceptable under the DEP’s landfill regulations.

A phased-in proposal recommended by the town would allow the town to use cover material from the landfill, use its own personnel and equipment, and budget the costs over time for less of an impact on property tax payers. If the town’s proposal is approved, the closing costs are estimated at $500,000, Simko said.

The DEP is expected to act on the town’s request within the next few weeks.

Simko said efforts also are being made to have the town in line for state reimbursement for the landfill costs should any funds become available in the future. He said Rep. Pete Johnson, R-Greenville, intends to submit emergency legislation later this month to amend the reimbursement law.

If passed, Greenville, Presque Isle, Brewer and West Forks, which built or expanded landfills before the law change that prohibited them, would be eligible for any future landfill closing funds. Greenville would be eligible for between 75 percent to 90 percent of the closing costs, Simko said.

In conjunction with the landfill work, the town is moving forward with plans for a transfer station. To help municipal officials decide what avenue to take, residents are asked to attend a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the municipal building. Simko said residents can comment on what they like and dislike about the solid waste program. That discussion would include days and hours of operation, curbside pick-up, as well as fees.

dianabdn@myfairpoint.net

MAPLE CITY — A green energy effort is under way at a Leelanau County landfill, a site with a history of pollution problems.

Waste Management is harnessing methane gas to power new technology at its Glen’s Landfill in Maple City, a system that reduces wastewater runoff and the number of trucks on the road. The effort will save the company money and reduce the toll on the environment.

A new system to evaporate leachate — rainwater that runs over garbage — is powered by about half the landfill’s captured gas emissions. The other half is still burned off with flares.

The idea is to reduce leachate by steaming off water and creating a concentrated leachate product that can go back into the landfill to aid garbage decomposition. Leachate formerly was trucked to Frankfort for treatment, so the effort reduces both company costs and the number of heavy trucks on the road, company officials said.

"This internalizes everything," said Jim Palmer, the company’s district manager.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approved the new technology, but did not require it, said Scott Conradson, a senior environmental engineer with the state agency.

The Maple City landfill had two leachate spills in March due to operator error during truck-loading, incidents that brought citations and a nearly $30,000 DEQ fine, Conradson said. The new leachate evaporation system should help prevent future spills, he said.

Palmer agreed.

"That’s the whole problem with trucking stuff," he said. "It’s an upgrade."

The evaporator cost about $2 million, but will stave off leachate transportation and treatment costs. It went online in late June and already processed 1.6 million gallons of leachate.

The landfill generates about 40,000 gallons of leachate daily and about 950 cubic feet of gas per minute, Palmer said.

Waste Management’s new leachate evaporator system is better for the environment, Conradson said, but the effort is spurred by economics and not environmentalism.

"They are in the business to make money and this will save them money," Conradson said. "It’s purely financial."

Conradson said the landfill is well operated under Waste Management, though the site caused groundwater contamination under a previous owner.

Now all 13 Lower Michigan landfills owned by Waste Management use landfill gas to generate energy.