Landfill Operations
The North
County Regional Solid Waste Disposal Facility is located near the
intersection of S.R. 710 and Jog Road in northern Palm Beach County.
The landfill is owned and operated by the Solid Waste Authority.
Consisting
of over 50 million cubic yards of airspace and with a footprint of
approximately 330 acres, this landfill opened in 1989 and is
currently expected to provide disposal capacity through the year
2021.
The site
actually consists of two landfills - a Class 1 landfill and a Class
3 landfill.
Class I Landfill
The Class I Landfill contains
approximately 41 million cubic yards. This landfill accepts ash and residue
from the Waste-to-Energy plant, as well as garbage, sludge, and other special
wastes that require landfilling in a Class I landfill in accordance with
federal, state, and local regulations.
The landfill operates twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week, but is only open to
the public Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Class I
landfill cells are referred to as "double-lined" landfills because they consist of
several layers of impervious material to prevent the landfill from
impacting the underlying groundwater. The landfills is constructed
in cells, which average approximately 10 acres
each.
Typical cell
construction starts with highly compacted sand and is followed by a
"geosynthetic" liner system. A layer of geosynthetic clay liner is installed.
This is followed by a layer of 60 mil high density polyethylene (HDPE)
plastic liner. Next, two layers of plastic geonet, which promotes water flow between the
liners, are installed. Finally, a second layer of 60 mil HDPE liner
is installed. The purpose of
this liner system is to prevent water that is passing through the landfill,
which is referred to as "leachate", from reaching the water table.
The leachate is collected by the "leachate collection system".
This is a system
of perforated pipes located within a drainage medium (rounded river
rock) that is installed
on top of the liner system. the leachate collected by the leachate
collection system is pumped from the landfill through a force main and
disposed of in accordance with applicable regulations.
The SWA
is often asked what it costs to construct a typical landfill cell.
In 2003 the Authority constructed Cells 9 and 10 in the Class I landfill
at a cost of $4.3 million, including construction, materials, fill
material, engineering, and construction management. this equals
approximately $215,000 per acre. Of course, landfill design and
cost can vary significantly based on geography, topography, and the
procurement method used; therefore, the cost in your area will undoubtedly
vary.
Class III Landfill
The Class III landfill is located on the
northern end of the landfill property. The Class III landfill
accepts materials that are not required to be disposed of in a Class I
landfill. This material is collectively referred to as "trash".
Typical items include furniture, construction debris, roofing material,
wood, carpet, and vegetative debris.
There are a variety of items
that are prohibited from disposal in the Class III landfill, such as
whole tires, automotive batteries, and appliances containing refrigerant
(refrigerators)
or combustible gas, such as propane. Landfill operations has a
program in place to recover prohibited items and transport them to one
of the facilities on-site for recycling or alternate disposal.
The Authority
has constructed 72 acres of Class III landfill capacity consisting of
approximately 9 million cubic yards. These are single-lined cells.
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