Landfill Cover Creation

 

Puente Hill Landfill - Whittier, CA

Receiving more trash than any other landfill in the country, nearly 3.7 million tons, the Puente Hills Landfill was the largest in the US during the 1997 year. Each day, 1500-1600 trucks carry about 8 tons of household or commercial waste into the landfill sited in the canyons of East Los Angeles. The landfill was developed from a canyon, so soil was not removed to create the crater that trash is placed in each day. Subsequently, the landfill will eventually be 3,000,000 cubic yards short of daily cover, between now and closing, estimated for 2013.

The landfill has experimented with shredding wood and yard waste and mixing it with soil as an extender for daily cover on the face of the landfill. They have found that unless a very good mix is obtained, the yard waste creates an odor problem for nearby residents. The solution has been a Brown Bear Model 500 aerator with a continuous auger. Previously, the landfill had tried road stabilizer and straddle composting machines, but the rock in the fill caused premature failure of these units. The Brown Bear's continuous auger has been found to be a better tool for mixing, as the rocks do not damage the continuous auger, and the unit produces a quality mix after one or two passes.