WM works to be a good neighbor at Kansas landfill

Between 400-500 trucks from across Johnson County, Kansas, show up to the Waste Management-owned Johnson County landfill every day. The Houston-based company, which took over landfill operations from Kansas City-based Deffenbaugh Industries in 2014-15, works to ensure operators manage the 440-acre site in a way that minimizes the landfill’s impact on the community.

However, with summer heat leading to more fragrant waste and more people spending their time outdoors, the company has placed a greater emphasis on reducing odors.

According to the Shawnee Mission Post, the company has partnered with the local community for a new odor control hotline aimed at helping the company be more proactive at mitigating potential issues. The company also recently moved its yard waste processing site at the landfill to help sequester smells from nearby neighbors. Additionally, operators mix odorous yard waste like grass clippings in a tub grinder with more benign yard waste such as wood and leaves to help better sequester off smells.

A high BTU gas plant also works to convert methane and carbon dioxide at the landfill to natural gas that is sold or used to fuel the company’s trucks. For the odors that do escape the site’s waste piles, Waste Management implements odor mitigation sprayers to neutralize the air.

“It’s a good feeling to know that you’re taking what is a nuisance gas, collecting it and making a valuable resource out of it. It’s something that we can actually use in our own business and benefits us,” Mike Hey, senior district manager at Waste Management, told the Shawnee Mission Post.

The site’s operators cover trash piles with 6 inches of clean shale each day and spray water on the refuse and road to help contain would-be odors and dust.

As the last line of defense, retention basins on the perimeter of the site collect runoff, while fences along the outside of the landfill help keep trash from blowing into neighboring communities. Likewise, staff walks around the site regularly to pick up any wayward trash.

“If you don’t see the landfill from the inside, the only view you have is what’s shown in movies and on television, and they always paint the picture of a landfill as a horrible place with garbage piled up all over the place, and it’s really not the case,” Hey says. “A lot goes into building these things. There’s a lot of technology. Even the active filling operation, there’s a science that goes into that.”

Waste Management recently had its special use permit extended to operate the site. The landfill is expected to close in 2043, but the company says it will make contingency plans for its area waste disposal well in advance.