Waste Management Unveils Landfill Expansion Plans

Waste Management gave the public a preview of their plans for the dump at a meeting tonight.

The corporate owner of Riverbend Landfill proposes asking the County to rezone both the PWS (brown area on map below, except for Whiteson) and RC (pink) zones to Exclusive Farm Use.  The landfill itself would then expand onto the 25 acres to the west of the existing dump, ie, the triangle in R5501-00400 above the boundary line for R5501-00401.  Those acres are north of the famous No-Name creek, so WM would not have to move the creek.  WM might also ask to rezone 12 acres north of the existing landfill adjacent to the portion of R5501-00101 that is now zoned PWS (brown). 

R5501-00401 would become "landfill operations" (another 25 acres), including access to Hwy 18.  West of that parcel are yet another 25 acres that would be set aside for "green technology."  WM explained that its operations area and the green tech would be "ancillary" to the landfill itself and therefore permitted under state and local land use law.

WM also unveiled its "green" tech:  a plant that will take the non-putrescible waste brought to the dump (minus substances like dirt) and compress these to make pellet fuel.  The organic smelly stuff would still go into the expanded landfill.  WM estimates that about 35% of what comes to Riverbend today (approximately 520,000 tons/year) is suitable for use in this new technology (ie, about 180,000 tons), though the plant itself will be scaled to handle 1,000 tons/day (260,000 - 365,000 tons depending on whether the plant operates 5 or 7 days a week).

To hear that the smelly stuff would still be going into the landfill was very disappointing.

We believe WM will file for the rezoning within the next few days.

Waste Management to Announce Expansion Plans

Waste Management will reveal its plans for expansion of Riverbend Landfill at another of its "pizza meetings" this Tuesday, September 24.

The company's website invites the public to "Come learn about plans for our green technology plant and future landfill operations."

Over the summer, Paul Burns of WM informed Stop the Dump members Susan Meredith, Susan Watkins, and Brian Doyle that WM was considering an energy-producing facility for the Riverbend site.  Burns declined to discuss the nature of the proposed facility other than to say that it would convert ordinary MSW (municipal solid waste, the stuff people throw away) into energy.

Using MSW as an energy source is big news, because MSW makes up the bulk of landfill garbage and also produces the most odor and gas as it decays.  Developing an efficient conversion process that does not in turn pollute air and water is one of the holy grails of waste handling.

According to Burns, the conversion process WM is proposing will not be able to utilize all categories of waste brought to Riverbend.  As a result, WM will continue to seek landfill expansion.

The Stop the Dump Coalition suggests several "baseline" commitments WM should make in any expansion proposal:

• Place all WM/Riverbend-owned lands at the site into a permanent easement that prohibits landfill-related uses in perpetuity;
• Explicitly protect waterways that border or cross WM/Riverbend-owned lands from landfill-related activities;
• Monitor emissions at the landfill perimeter and optimal off-site locations and allow public access to the data in real time, and promptly correct any problems;
• Monitor ground water quality on neighboring properties, share data with landowners, and promptly correct any problems;
• Require loads to be sorted for recoverable material before the load will be accepted at the landfill;
• Ensure that "green technology" utilized at the site truly is green.

Other ideas for WM?  Bring them to Tuesday's meeting and leave them as a comment below!  The meeting begins with mingling at 6:00 and presentations at 7:00 PM at the McMinnville Senior Center, 2250 NE McDaniels Lane, McMinnville.