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Expert: Landfill full in about 40 years
Published November 2, 2009
There’s a lot more to trash – and managing trash – than meets the eye.
Members of the Del Rio City Council recently listened to a presentation detailing operations at the city’s solid waste landfill.
The presentation was made during the Oct. 27 council meeting by representatives of Chiang Patel & Yerby, Inc. (CP&Y), the company that has worked with Del Rio for many years on landfill issues.
“There’s a lot more to the full life of a solid waste system. . . There are a lot of regulatory issues, a lot of pre-planning; many, many, many years in advance. And the city of Del Rio has been very progressive and forward-thinking in planning for the future of our citizens and our children and beyond,” CP&Y’s Marisa Vergara told the council.
She added the city is currently “at a critical period” over the next few years, since the city will be both closing cells at the landfill and will be looking at the future in permitting future sites for the landfill.
Frank Pugsley, professional engineer and leader of CP&Y’s solid waste group, spoke to the council about details regarding the life of the landfill.
Pugsley began at the beginning, the generation of waste from Del Rio households.
A portion of that waste in Del Rio is now recycled, Pugsley said. “And one of the best benefits of recycling as far as landfilling is concerned. You’re not putting that waste in your landfill, thereby you’re increasing the overall life of your landfill,” Pugsley said.
Pugsley said there are a total of 246 permitted landfills in Texas, disposing a total of 33.19 million tons of trash every year.
Del Rio’s landfill disposes of about 45,000 tons of solid waste every year, Pugsley said.
He said there are an estimated 42 years of capacity remaining in the state’s existing landfills, and in Del Rio, the original landfill permit, includes six divisions called “disposal cells,” or “cells,” three of which are now ready to be closed.
“You’re in Cell Four, awaiting construction of Cell Five. You have about 4.7 million cubic yards of space. You use about 150,000 cubic yards a year, so that leaves you with about 1.6 million cubic yards remaining, or about 10 to 11 years of space,” Pugsley told the council.
Pugsley reviewed the process by which a city plans a new landfill site, pre-permitting, permitting and design and construction of a new landfill site.
Pugsley detailed the processes, which are lengthy and involve a raft of state and local regulatory agencies, as well as input from the public, especially landowners around any proposed site. He said this process also deals with closure and post-closure care plans.
Pugsley discussed the specifics of the Del Rio landfill, reiterating that the city has three cells awaiting closure. He said the cell currently being filled, Cell Four, “has probably one to two years of life left,” and said Cell Five has not yet been designed or constructed and reminded the council said cell design and construction can take up to a year.
“That’s something the city needs to be prepared for in the near future,” Pugsley said.
Pugsley also addressed operation and maintenance of the landfill and again complimented the city on ramping up recycling operations.
“That recycling is great. It’s a great step forward. It keeps that waste out of the landfill. It prolongs your landfill life, so you’re not burying plastic and you’re not burying newspaper or aluminum cans, that are just going to take up space and never biodegrade,” Pugsley said.
But when it comes to solid waste, Pugsley said, the city must always look to the future.
He noted that several years ago, CP&Y worked with the city to evaluate a 75-acre site adjacent to the existing landfill.
“There’s about 2.9 million cubic yards of space that could be available on this site, and based on conservative estimates, that’s 20 years, if you get good compaction with the landfill compactor that the city currently has Red River using,” Pugsley said.
With good compaction, that 20-year estimate could go as high as 30 to 35 years.
“So with this 75 acres. . .you’re looking at 35 to 40 years of life left in the landfill. That’s a great asset to the city,” he said.
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