For landfill owners and operators, the maximization of airspace is a critical component in contributing to the bottom line of their business. The ClosureTurf® final cover system eliminates the use of vegetative and protective/infiltration soil layers, thereby drastically reducing the amount of soil and earthwork necessary for final cover construction as compared to a traditional soil cover. While eliminating environmental impact associated with land disturbance of borrow areas, ClosureTurf also typically provides a minimum two feet of additional airspace compared to traditional landfill closures. It allows for additional waste capacity generation within the same footprint for additional revenue.
The added airspace can be realized for landfills with final cover systems permitted based on elevations of the top of final cover. Landfill owners also account for depreciation of certain assets over a period of time. If they can accommodate more waste within the same footprint, then the owners can realize a lower depreciation cost per ton of waste.
Case Study 1: Louisa County Landfill, Mineral, VA
For the Louisa County Landfill project in Mineral, VA, ClosureTurf allowed for an additional two feet of waste (around 45,000 cubic yards) with an estimated value of approximately $1.5M to be placed within the permitted airspace limit by eliminating the conventional 18-inch protective and 6-inch vegetative soil layers. In addition, the annual savings in post-closure maintenance costs were estimated to be approximately $20,000/year by eliminating mowing and re-seeding, slope erosion repairs, and sediment removal in drainage ditches and stormwater basins.
Case Study 2: Covanta Energy Landfill, Carver, MA
For the Covanta Energy Landfill project in Carver, MA, the ClosureTurf alternative closure solution not only required significantly less maintenance under severe weather conditions, but also offered more airspace within the same landfill footprint. Besides many other advantages of ClosureTurf, the site owner appreciated the fact that it provided around 12,000 cubic yards of extra capacity for the ash by-product generated from the waste-to-energy facility. Because the two feet of soil was not required, the site owner was able to use that space to their advantage. The value of the additional airspace can be realized in many ways, including additional revenue with the gained two-foot expansion within the same footprint and more time before opening new waste containment cells.
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.