Pine Tree Acres Landfill is a regional facility that provides safe and convenient disposal services for various communities, businesses, and industries.
Pine Tree Acres
WM: Who We Are
As North America’s largest provider of sustainability and environmental solutions, we’ve enabled sustainability progress for businesses and cities across the country for decades.
Now, our industry-leading sustainability vision will drive transformative impact for our customers and the communities where we live and work. Leveraging our infrastructure, world-class operations, and expertise, we’re focusing our strategy on three bold ambitions: materials are repurposed, energy is renewable, and communities are thriving.
To achieve these ambitions: We’re evolving waste and recycling solutions to expand the reuse of materials, giving new life to things we no longer use, and lessening our collective footprint. We’re making landmark investments in innovative technologies that turn waste into new forms of energy, which can be used to power our trucks and your homes. We are empowering the communities where we live and work with knowledge and resources so they can thrive within clean, resilient environments. Together, we’re reinventing what’s possible.
About Pine Tree Acres
Past & Present
- • Pine Tree Acres is a Type II non-hazardous municipal solid waste disposal landfill, first permitted in 1986. Operations first began in 1987.
- • The only active landfill in Macomb County that provides services for Michigan communities located primarily in southeast Michigan.
- • Owned and operated by Pine Tree Acres, Inc. and regulated by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and works with its host community, Lenox Township, to ensure compliance with all state and federal regulations.
Community Collaborator
- • Pine Tree Acres has provided funding and support for several community projects, including several miles of new public water lines, a donation of a fire truck, the rebuilding of a major intersection to improve public safety, and a foundation grant for public park signage.
- • Pine Tree Acres continues its ongoing first responder training program, working alongside local rescue personnel to prepare for disaster.
Address & Hours of Operation
Address
36600 29 Mile Road
Lenox, MI 48048
Hours of Operation
6:00 am - 4:30 pm
Monday - Friday
7:00 am - 11:00 am
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Landfill Benefits & Features
Containment Design
Pine Tree Acres Landfill is constructed predominantly with a composite liner system comprised of a 2-foot-thick re-compacted clay liner (or equivalent) overlaying a 10-foot-thick natural clay soil barrier, followed by a 60-mil high-density polyethylene liner and a 1-foot thick granular leachate collection layer.
Leachate Collection and Treatment
Leachate is a combination of precipitation mixed with the liquid generated by waste as it decomposes. A majority of leachate is directly discharged to the local sewer system where it is treated at a publicly owned water treatment facility.
Groundwater Monitoring
The site implements an Environmental Monitoring Program consisting of 20 groundwater monitoring wells, five surface water monitoring points, and 19 gas monitoring probes. All locations are monitored in accordance with EGLE-approved monitoring plans by trained technicians, and groundwater samples are analyzed by an independent third party laboratory. Monitoring reports are submitted to EGLE for review.
Containment Design
Pine Tree Acres Landfill is constructed predominantly with a composite liner system comprised of a 2-foot-thick re-compacted clay liner (or equivalent) overlaying a 10-foot-thick natural clay soil barrier, followed by a 60-mil high-density polyethylene liner and a 1-foot thick granular leachate collection layer.
Leachate Collection and Treatment
Leachate is a combination of precipitation mixed with the liquid generated by waste as it decomposes. A majority of leachate is directly discharged to the local sewer system where it is treated at a publicly owned water treatment facility.
Groundwater Monitoring
The site implements an Environmental Monitoring Program consisting of 20 groundwater monitoring wells, five surface water monitoring points, and 19 gas monitoring probes. All locations are monitored in accordance with EGLE-approved monitoring plans by trained technicians, and groundwater samples are analyzed by an independent third party laboratory. Monitoring reports are submitted to EGLE for review.
Landfill Gas Management - Energy is Renewable
Pine Tree Acres is home to two, on-site energy plants that utilize our landfill gas-to-energy (17) engines, which in turn generate enough electricity to power over 19,000 homes. As the waste we receive breaks down, that gas is then captured and converted into renewable electricity to power homes and buildings, as well as renewable natural gas (RNG) to power vehicles - including our own fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks. Harnessing renewable energy is an important step to mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impact at our landfills and at our hauling facilities.
Pine Tree Acres has installed over 3.5 miles in gas collection pipe at Pine Tree Acres Landfill in the last four years.
- More than 6 miles in depth of gas collection wells will be installed at Pine Tree Acres over the next 20 years.
- In 2022, the landfill gas capture was equivalent to filling over 40,000 hot air balloons.
- Pine Tree Acres helps power over 19,000 homes.
- This gas is also used to supply power to major employers and manufacturing facilities.
Fuel FOR TOMORROW℠: Landfill Gas to Renewable Energy
What if we told you our trucks were powered by the trash that collects them? It’s happening today, and it started in the 1980s. Come with us to Northern California to learn how one of our 124 renewable energy projects makes this a reality.
Wildlife Habitat Council
WM has been a member of the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) since the 1980s, exemplifying their commitment to improving wildlife habitat through enriching existing and establishing new habitat on company land.
The Wildlife Habitat Program at Pine Tree Acres provides important habitat for native wildlife as well as allowing employees and local community members to become engaged in outdoor education.
For more than 20 years, WM has collaborated with Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) to promote sustainability, wildlife preservation, biodiversity, and environmental education at the company’s WHC-certified sites.
At Pine Tree Acres Landfill, employees actively manage 100 acres for conservation projects focused on birds, landscaping, and wetlands, phragmites management, awareness, and community engagement. The conservation program at Pine Tree Acres Landfill has been WHC-certified since 2010.
The Wildlife Habitat Program at Pine Tree Acres provides important habitat for native wildlife as well as allowing employees and local community members to become engaged in outdoor education.
For more than 20 years, WM has collaborated with Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) to promote sustainability, wildlife preservation, biodiversity, and environmental education at the company’s WHC-certified sites.
At Pine Tree Acres Landfill, employees actively manage 100 acres for conservation projects focused on birds, landscaping, and wetlands, phragmites management, awareness, and community engagement. The conservation program at Pine Tree Acres Landfill has been WHC-certified since 2010.
Meet Rachael Gregory, District Manager
Rachael is a key and valued member of the WM Great Lakes Area (MI/OH/IN) community, who works every day to support our team at Pine Tree Acres Landfill. Rachael has built an incredible WM journey, with a greater calling to be an inspiration for women looking to pursue a career in the environmental services industry.