Ground & Surface Water Protection
The Pine Bluff Landfill is equipped with a composite liner and leachate collection system designed to collect landfill liquids (called leachate) and to protect groundwater. Pine Bluff’s liner system meets the Federal Subtitle D criteria and consists of the following: A prepared subgrade (14) consisting of two feet of compacted clay (13), a high-density 60-mil thick polyethylene (HDPE) flexible geomembrane liner (12), a leachate collection system (11), a geocomposite drainage net (10) and two feet of protective soil cover (9).
Leachate is created as rainwater filters through disposed waste. The leachate collection system (11) enables the liquid to drain to various collection points inside the landfill (sumps) where it is then pumped to a central collection tank. The leachate is then transferred into tanker trucks and hauled off-site to a wastewater treatment plant for treatment and final disposal. The facility further ensures groundwater protection by routinely sampling and analyzing groundwater collected from onsite from monitoring wells.
Protection from landfill gas migration is provided by monitoring probes located around the perimeter of the facility that provide early detection of landfill gas migration, as well as an active gas collection system that treats and/or flares landfill gas.
Silt fence, rock dams, sediment ponds, erosion control mats, mulch and other best management practices are routinely used to manage storm water runoff. The facility maintains three permanent and two temporary storm water retention ponds that collect and manage the discharge of surface water. Furthermore, surface or storm water is routinely monitored in accordance with the Georgia Storm water Permits.
Landfill Gas Collection and Control System
WM uses the most advanced gas monitoring equipment to ensure landfill gas emissions do not exceed the Georgia Environmental Protection Department and EPA regulations. Landfill gas, a greenhouse gas, is generated through the decomposition of waste in landfills and offers a clean renewable energy resource. Pine Bluff Landfill collects the gas through a network of gas extraction wells. The collected gas is used as a renewable energy resource to power local business operations in the area.
Odor Control
The Pine Bluff Landfill seeks to minimize odors in many ways. Because landfill odors may be created by the decomposition of waste, the landfill employs a dynamic gas collection and control system. This system uses multiple gas extraction wells to safely collect and remove naturally forming methane gases from waste. Gases collected through the extraction system is used as a renewable energy resource to power to power local business operations in the area or burned by high-temperature flares located on the site. Pine Bluff further minimizes odors by covering newly deposited waste with a thick layer of soil, operating deodorized mister systems and by monitoring potentially odorous wastes deposited at the site.