Twin Chimneys Landfill Tour
Twin Chimneys Landfill was opened in 2007 and is expected to close in 2057 since this size landfill generally last 50 years. During our meeting with the managers of the landfill we discussed the initiatives to reduce the landfill’s environmental impact and the daily operations of the landfill. The Twin Chimneys Landfill takes in about 1,300-1,400 tons of waste a day from the county of Greenville. To combat the substantial amount of waste entering the landfill they have recycling facilities on site. For instance, food waste accounts for a large portion of waste in landfills, so I would assume that it would be the same issue at the Twin Chimneys Landfill. However, they have started a program that collects food waste from the county and turns it into compost at the landfill that is then sold back to the people of the county. Of the waste that does make it to the landfill, some of it decomposes thanks to different types of microbes at the various layers of the landfill. These microbes break down the waste and in turn produce heat, gas, and waste water, or leachate. To prevent leaks of leachate from the landfill they have installed a water-tight plastic liner at the bottom. They also have various layers of sand, gravel, and a French drain system to mitigate and filter the waste water. When a portion of the landfill is filled, they close it off with another layer of the water tight plastic liner and install pipes to connect the unit to other sections of the landfill to continue harvesting the gas emissions and monitoring the waste water that is produced.
Although I have learned extensively about the implications of landfills and the substantial amount of trash we produce daily, seeing the mountain of waste first hand really put things into perspective. Twin Chimneys Landfill is a small-scale landfill that serves part of the Greenville County because there are other small-scale landfills in the surrounding area. Despite this, the size of the garbage trucks that came up the mountain to drop off one of their loads for the day were breathtaking. I can only imagine the amount of waste delivered to a large-scale landfill. When we finally were on top of the mountain the smell became very strong, there was dust and plastic bags flying everywhere, and a large flock of birds were circling the mountain in hopes of finding something to eat. There was heavy duty machinery working on top of the mountain to move the trash around. One BATCO in particular had plastic and other trash stuck in its wheels, serving as another indicator of the side effects of our linear and consumptive society.
We asked the managers more about their environmental initiatives at the landfill, for instance whether the plastic lining was enough and if there have been any leakages of leachate from the landfill. They responded that there have not been any serious leaks that they know of. However, as we were touring the landfill, we noticed a greenish brown pool of liquid on the side of the road near the leachate tanks. Our guide told us that the trucks that take the leachate to the water treatment facility sometimes spill a little during the transfer process, proving that the system is not 100 percent on preventing leaks. We also asked what they did with the gases that are produced at the bottom of the landfill. They described the pipes at the bottom of the landfill that pull the gases out so that they can be converted into an energy source and prevent explosions from occurring at the bottom of the landfill.
After visiting the landfill, I was physically sickened by the wastefulness of our society. I personally believe that I do not produce that much waste individually, but this trip proved that as a collective the issue is much larger than the individual. The stuff that made it into the landfill were generally the items that could not be recycled or were not recycled a result of poor product design, public education, and infrastructure. The amount of trash and size of the landfill are a symptom of our consumeristic culture that should be altered to a more regenerative state. If everyone saw the landfills that support their habits, maybe they would be more conscious of the amount of trash they throw away.