Waste-by-rail shifts tonnages for Pennsylvania landfill

Out-of-state waste at the Bethlehem Landfill in eastern Pennsylvania is down 10 percent from the previous quarter, according to a report from LehighValleyNews.com.

At a Jan. 18 landfill committee meeting, officials said monthly reports show 15,800 to 16,500 tons were received during each of the last three months of 2023. This is compared with reports of 22,100 to 24,700 tons brought in during July, August and September of last year.

These decreases can largely be attributed to Waste Connections’, the landfill’s owner, acquisition of Arrowhead Environmental Partners last year. As previously reported by Waste Today, the $100 million revenue deal expanded The Woodlands, Texas-based firm’s waste-by-rail disposal assets.

According to Toronto-based private equity group Clairvest Group Inc., Arrowhead Environmental Partners owns and leases “unique, well-placed disposal infrastructure assets to provide cost-effective waste-by-rail disposal solutions to solid waste management companies in markets with tightening disposal capacity.”

RELATED: New Hampshire bill would limit out-of-state trash

“So, we purchased Arrowhead [Environmental Partners], which has a rail yard in Jersey, but they rail it to Alabama,” Bethlehem Landfill District Manager Astor Lawson tells LehighValleyNews.com. “Basically, the New York City waste from my company is going to start going to Alabama.”

Officials say additional definitive numbers on the out-of-state weight will be shared at the next committee meeting April 18.

Lawson anticipates tonnages will continue to drop this year, as Waste Connections plans to buy more rail cars to transport waste.

According to Arrowhead Environmental Partners', its Perry County, Alabama, landfill serves customers from 33 states, taking in a maximum of 15,000 tons per day with 95 percent coming via rail.

Tonnages received include municipal solid waste, construction and demolition debris, as well as other industrial and special waste streams approved by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.