Whither the Dump?

by Susan Watkins

8/13/2013 8:38:22 PM

The next Waste Management Stewardship Committee meeting is set for August 21 at 5:30 pm.  The Committee is scheduled to review proposals submitted for use of Waste Management-owned lands surrounding the dump.  A September meeting will introduce the selected projects to the public.

When particular projects could be implemented -- and who will pay their costs -- remains to be seen, however.  While most of the land is subject to short-term leases and therefore could be made available relatively quickly, many valuable acres, including the Schmidt farm, are tied up for decades.  Projects that would use those lands are not likely to be finalized any time soon.  Zoning may impose additional hurdles to development, unless selected uses are acknowledged as "farm uses" in existing law.

These limitations are fine will many observers, including dump neighbors, who like the agricultural nature of their community and are happy to see these acres remain in farming.

The federal government is considering a different use for closed landfills:  energy production.  The feds are encouraging landfill operators to consider this option when designing their landfills.  Potential energy projects include not only landfill-gas-to-energy operations, such as the one taxpayers helped install at Riverbend, but also photovoltaic (solar) panel and wind turbine fields that would sit atop closed dumps.

Another way to produce energy is to skip the landfill entirely (almost).  An anaerobic digester can process most non-recyclable waste, producing energy and compost along the way.  Some residue remains, requiring a far smaller dump than without the digester.  Or, waste can be burned to produce energy.  Modern burners are much more efficient than the ones that polluted our air in the last century.  Depending on how hot the burner is, ash or a glassy material may be left over.  Ash must be disposed of in a landfill, but the glassy substance produced at very high temperatures is inert and potential useful for road construction.

The real question for Yamhill County is when one or more of these uses might be available here -- two years from now or twenty?