By NATE KING
Salina Mail
Salina Municipality collects around 95,000 tons of waste each year. Where is all the garbage? The municipal landfill of Salina. James Teutsch, Head of Public Works at the CITjof Salina, told this week's city commission study session that the city of Salina is working to be "zero waste" by 2050.
What does "Zero Waste 2050" mean?
It is impossible to get real waste to zero. Humans will always have waste. Mayor Mike Hoppock put into context what the working definition of Zero Waste means for Salina.
“'Zero Waste' is defined as a philosophy that promotes reuse, recycling and conservation programs. And she also emphasizes sustainability for the entire life cycle of products. Also, we do a lot of things with the landfill. The city has a landfill, how do we keep this landfill as long as possible? By reducing trash, you are also extending the life of that landfill for as long as is beneficial to your community," Hoppock said.
Waste Characterization Study 2022
Last year, consultants from SCS Engineering in Wichita and City of Salina Sanitation staff conducted a waste characterization study in which they took samples from the landfill, analyzed each waste, and classified it by waste type. In the breakout session, SCS Engineer Renee Crenshaw presented the study results to the commissioners.
“Different types of plastic, paper, food waste, textiles, we looked at this wide array of items, sorted them into bins, weighed them and percentaged them what we thought based on that little snapshot of what garbage this is The Salina Landfill was obtained from a housing standpoint and from a municipal waste standpoint, I think we have 20 different categories,” said Crenshaw.
The aim of the 2022 study was to provide the city with a deeper understanding of its waste streams, which would enable data and evidence-based decisions that lead to efficient use of resources and lead to further waste reduction, and would enable comparison with historical data . studies.
To better understand commercial waste, the SCS engineering team analyzed how two regional companies, Martinelli's, 158 S. Santa Fe Avenue, and Dillon's, 1201 W. Crawford Street, currently manage their organic waste. and what sustainable strategies have been implemented to reduce waste and encourage recycling.
According to the study, a robust composting program was established at Dillon's a year and a half ago, beginning with a pilot program at the S. Ohio Street store in Salina. Greg Moore was working at the store at the time, helping with the pilot program. The pilot program resulted in less waste generation and reduced the frequency of bin emptying from once every eight to nine days to approximately once every 20 days.
A reduction in landfill costs was observed, although the study indicated that these costs could be offset by the cost of transporting composted materials to a third party at Hutchinson. The study found that Dillon's on W. Crawford Street composts a total of 1,350 gallons per week, which equates to approximately 70,200 gallons per year.
Almost all of Dillon's stores have started implementing the program, with the exception of a few smaller stores in more rural areas. At the time of the study, the W. Crawford Street store was still implementing its organic program. The business has already recognized the benefits of the program, such as: B. reducing the frequency required to empty the dumpster from once every seven to eight days to once every fourteen to fifteen days.
For 20 years, Martinelli's has recycled its used oil through an outside company, Darling Ingredients, which uses it to produce biofuel. Used cooking oil is collected in the kitchen and transferred to a waste oil container behind the restaurant. This container is emptied once a month.
Martinelli employees also work hard to use all ingredients found in food in their recipes, including "ugly" items. For example, many of their leftover vegetables are used in their steak soups. They also pay close attention to expiration dates and work hard to use food before it expires. If shipment orders are not picked up, Martinelli's will donate them to the Rescue Mission or similar organizations. This will prevent cooked and edible food from going to waste.
During Monday's discussion, Deputy Mayor Bill Longbine asked how many years it will be before the Salina landfill reaches full capacity.
"The landfill is about 180 years old," said Teutsch. “We had been talking about compaction and the efficiency of tackling this waste as best we can and I think it's important to mention that the landfill is an income-generating part of the town of Salina. So as we look at this, it's in our best interest to develop the most thoughtful, detailed, comprehensive, and efficient way to build this zero waste initiative over a 30-year period."
Teutsch said the city of Salina is building nine-hectare landfill cells in a five-year cycle.
"Because we assemble each of these cells and then pay for the landfill revenue for those cells," Teutsch said. "So in general we think with just a typical landfill cell of the size that we build on about 9 acres over a five year period, it's about $2.5 million."
According to the study, the City of Salina has long tracked the amount and type of municipal solid waste materials disposed of at the Salina landfill. These efforts have helped the city better understand its waste stream, developing policies and programs that reduce waste, encourage recycling and facilitate Sustainable Materials Management (SMM). The City recognizes that there are other opportunities for ongoing waste reduction and recycling in addition to its current programs.
Over the past two decades, the city has commissioned three waste characterization studies to quantitatively and qualitatively measure waste disposal. Historical studies were conducted in 1996-1997 and 2004.
During their presentation, SCS engineers thanked the Salina Drive-thru Recycling Center for accessing their site, receiving waste and allowing the SCS team to use available equipment and human resources to assist in sample collection and classification to help.
Community survey 2023
Since completing the waste characterization study in 2o22, SCS engineers have set to work studying the data and identifying areas of waste that can be reduced or even better recycled.
“We met with the Zero Waste Initiative group in September and we have the public opinion poll that will focus on finding information about what the community thinks about recycling, composting and other types of material diversion and how important it is. Planned to go live on Monday," Crenshaw said.
The 18-question poll, to be distributed starting Monday, will ask residents of Salina about their opinions and feelings about recycling, composting, reusing and reducing. The survey includes behavioral questions such as "How often do you use the Salina Drive-thru Recycling Center?" and "How much would you be willing to pay for curbside recycling?"
“An online public survey is conducted through a Survey Monkey web link. I think there will be an ad that comes out with a water bill, like a few lines at the end of each water bill for a month. It will be open from January 30th to March 3rd. And then there will also be information on the City of Salina website and in the media with the other Facebook to promote and seek public input," Crenshaw said.
Click here to view the full 2022 Waste Characterization Study and more information on the Salina landfillhere.
FAQs
How can we solve the problem of landfills? ›
- Donate clothes-donate clothes to people in need, shelters, or thrift stores.
- Reduce food waste-donate unused items for your pantry; save leftovers for the next meal.
- Buy things with less packaging or in bulk.
- Eliminate plastic bottle use-use reusable drinking containers.
- Conserve landfill space. Landfills are a valuable resource, requiring extensive engineering design and long-term monitoring of water and air resources. ...
- Conserve non-renewable resources. ...
- Save energy and reduce greenhouse gases. ...
- Natural soil enhancements. ...
- Economic benefits.
Once a spot has been used as a landfill site and it fills up, it is covered over and compressed (again), and the area can be used for building. But it can't be opened up for landfill again.
What are 3 problems with landfills? ›And it's not just the sight of increasing piles of waste that's the problem. There are many negative issues associated with landfill. The three most important problems with landfill are toxins, leachate and greenhouse gases.
What are the two main problems with landfills? ›Landfills are bad for our health and environment. landfills, carrying with it toxic chemicals from our waste, ends up in our water supplies. Many communities surrounding landfills have had their drinking water contaminated by leaking landfills. A major source of methane.
What is the formula for waste diversion? ›The formula for calculating your diversion rate is:
Divide the Weight of Diverted Waste Only by the Weight of All Waste. Multiply the quotient by 100. The result is your Diversion Rate.
Recycling: Recycling is the most popular method of waste diversion and comes in many forms.
What are the common barriers to implementing waste diversion programs? ›- Lack of Waste Collecting Points. ...
- Irregularity of Waste Collection. ...
- Inadequate Waste Collection Vehicles. ...
- Inadequate Access to Waste Bins. ...
- Alternatives to Final Waste Disposal (Burning and Illegal Dumping) ...
- Improper Waste Separation Facilities.
The Life Expectancy of a Landfill
Given these considerations, the average life expectancy could be anywhere from 30 to 50 years. Type II landfills must be monitored for 30 years after closure.
Normally, plastic items take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills. But plastic bags we use in our everyday life take 10-20 years to decompose, while plastic bottles take 450 years. Just in the United States alone, every year more than 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown away.
What is the biggest problem with landfills? ›
Environmental Impact of Landfills
The most pressing environmental concern regarding landfills is their release of methane gas. As the organic mass in landfills decompose methane gas is released.
Relevant standards of municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLs) require MSWL and hazardous waste landfills to maintain an isolation distance of 500 and 800 m from the surrounding residents and water bodies.
How toxic are landfills? ›Summary. Landfills can produce objectionable odors and landfill gas can move through soil and collect in nearby buildings. Of the gases produced in landfills, ammonia, sulfides, methane, and carbon dioxide are of most concern. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are responsible for most of the odors at landfills.
What diseases can landfills cause? ›Previous research shows that people living closer to landfill sites suffer from medical conditions such as asthma, cuts, diarrhoea, stomach pain, reoccurring flu, cholera, malaria, cough, skin irritation, cholera, diarrhoea and tuberculosis more than the people living far away from landfill sites [31,32,33,34,35,36].
Will we run out of landfill space? ›This means that by 2021 only 15 years of landfill capacity will remain. However, in some regions it could be only half that.
What are the 3 golden rules of waste management? ›“The three R's – reduce, reuse and recycle – all help to cut down on the amount of waste we throw away.
What is an example of waste diversion? ›Waste prevention, reuse, composting, mulching, recycling, and donation are generally accepted diversion methods.
What are the 3 types of waste segregation *? ›A – Recyclable Waste- Plastics, Paper, Glass, Metal Etc. B- Toxic Waste:- – Old Medicine, paints, Chemicals, bulbs, Spray Cans, fertilizer and pesticide containers, batteries, shoe polish. C- Soiled: – Hospital waste such as cloth soiled with blood and other body fluids.
What are the 4 main criteria to have a landfill? ›There are four critical elements in a secure landfill: a bottom liner, a leachate collection system, a cover, and the natural hydrogeologic setting. The natural setting can be selected to minimize the possibility of wastes escaping to groundwater beneath a landfill. The three other elements must be engineered.
What is a better alternative to landfills? ›Recycling is the most obvious alternative to sending waste to a landfill. A wide range of materials can be recycled at least to some degree, and recycling can even yield potential financial benefits.
What is the most effective method of waste disposal? ›
Out of them recycling and reusing are considered to be the best waste management method, for obvious reasons because recycling not only allows us to get rid of waste material that we no longer need but effectively converts it into something that is useful and is required as raw materials for industries.
What are the three 3 dominant concerns in the solid waste management? ›Improper wastes disposal, inefficient wastes collection and lack of disposal facilities are among the dominant concerns in the country's solid waste management.
What are 3 consequences of inadequate waste disposal? ›Soil, water and air pollution can all be a result of improper waste disposal and occurs when either of them becomes contaminated with hazardous materials. Not only does this contribute to the creation of a greenhouse gas effects but also causes significant harm to marine and wildlife.
What are four types of waste to conduct a waste audit? ›- Composition of the Waste Stream. The first step in the audit process is to look at what materials you are currently disposing of and in what quantities. ...
- Determine Weight / Volume. ...
- Sources of Waste. ...
- Collection System. ...
- Current & Projected Costs.
Plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to decompose. Pollution from plastic bottles is a global problem with most of it ending up in our oceans or breaking down into microplastics that can be found in our food. In the U.S. alone, more that 60 million plastic bottles are thrown away every day.
Why is construction not allowed in a landfill area for 20 years? ›It is not safe to construct a building on the landfill or area around it since the breakdown of waste materials in landfills several types of gases are released which are very harmful. So human habitat should be away from landfills to avoid harmful gases, diseases and dirty condition of landfills.
Does garbage decompose in a landfill? ›Waste decomposes in a landfill. Decomposition means that those chemical bonds that hold material together disintegrate and the material breaks down into simpler substances. Biological decomposition can be hastened or delayed depending on the amount of oxygen, temperature, and moisture available.
What is waste that Cannot be decomposed? ›Waste that cannot be decomposed by biological processes is known as “Non-biodegradable wastes”. Most of the inorganic waste is non-biodegradable. Non-biodegradable wastes that can be recycled are known as “Recyclable waste” and those which cannot be recycled are known as “Non-recyclable waste”.
Which item would take the longest to break down in a landfill? ›The first object to note on this list of trash that spends the most time decomposing in landfills is glass bottles, which can take up to one million years to break down completely.
What materials decompose the fastest? ›| Vegetables | 5 days –1 month |
|---|---|
| Aluminium cans | 80–100 years |
| Glass bottles | 1 million years |
| Styrofoam cup | 500 years to forever |
| Plastic bags | 500 years to forever |
What happens to plastic in landfills? ›
Much of it ends up in landfills, where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose, leaching potentially toxic substances into the soil and water. Researchers in Germany are warning that the impact of microplastics in soils, sediments and freshwater could have a long-term negative effect on such ecosystems.
What are the dangers of living next to a landfill? ›As mentioned before, landfill sites emit poisonous gases such as Hydrogen Sulphide, which severely impacts respiratory organs and can cause lung cancer. Children are more at risk, with an 11 percent chance of being admitted to hospital for respiratory problems and a higher chance of 13 percent for asthma.
What is the future of landfills? ›The future landfill may be a more highly instrumented facility that provides real-time feedback to its operator of its performance and status. This approach could help in reducing the potential for major failures, loss of productivity and revenue, and loss of life.
How can we make landfills more sustainable? ›- Strategic Planning. Waste management requires a strong strategy to handle waste, identify reusable materials to process, and decrease the amount of discarded resources going into landfills. ...
- Collaboration Across Industries. ...
- Material Recycling.
Use food scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic wastes to create a compost pile. Adding the compost you make to soil increases water retention, decreases erosion, and keeps organic materials out of landfills.
How can we prevent landfill leakage? ›With few exceptions, landfills should be designed with a perimeter drainage swale to convey water around and away from the landfill. The perimeter swales should be designed to intercept surface water that may be flowing toward the landfill that could end up in the leachate collection system.
What is the most preferred method of reducing landfill disposal of waste? ›Source reduction, also known as waste prevention, means reducing waste at the source, and is the most environmentally preferred strategy. It can take many different forms, including reusing or donating items, buying in bulk, reducing packaging, redesigning products, and reducing toxicity.