To better understand how Republic Services operates its landfill, the Jefferson City Environmental Quality Commission toured Republic Services' facility Wednesday.
Peering out of a white bus, commissioners watched as equipment worked to compact trash. While watching from a large bare cliff alongside the hole, Environmental Manager Craig Abbott told the commissioners they were "sitting on about 110 feet of trash."
While many believe the landfill at 5605 Moreau River Access Road is just a hole where Republic Services dumps its trash, that is not the case, Abbott and landfill operations manager Curt Robertson said.
"We try to take their perception of coming to the dump and leaving saying, 'Wow, that is an engineered sanitary landfill,'" Abbott said, describing the state and federal regulations the company must comply with to operate a landfill. "They're kind of at awe because it's not just digging a hole in the ground and throwing trash in it."
Serving towns including Jefferson City, Linn, Tipton, Eldon and Osage Beach, the permitted landfill in Jefferson City was created in the late 1970s and takes in about 600 tons of trash daily, Robertson said.
Republic Services digs large craters called cells and lines these cells with compacted clay and approved synthetic liner before placing waste in them. They have permitted top and bottom elevations that limit how much trash they can place in these craters.
"We can only go so high, so it's like filling up a balloon or putting cotton balls in a box," Abbott said. "We pack it as much as we can so we can keep going for as long as we can. If we weren't packing trash, we would have been filled up years ago."
From there, equipment compacts the trash into 1,500 pounds per cubic yard.
Republic Services also has stormwater basins, pipes and landfill gas it must manage at the landfill.
Commissioner Ashley Varner said she was fascinated by the tour and it debunked preconceived ideas she had of the landfill.
"I had no idea what the process truly was or the technology that has to go into it and how extensive the piping and gas management," she said. "Every judgment or opinion I had going into what I thought I was going to see and smell today was totally debunked."
Watching the equipment compact the trash from the top of the cliff was an eye-opening experience, Varner said.
"It just really brought it home to me how large the amount of waste that is produced and the value in having to maintain that and doing it in such a way that benefits our environment," she said.
A landfill will reach the end of its life eventually, though. The landfill in Jefferson City has about 12 and a half years left in its lifespan, Abbott said.
Republic Services is beginning talks about options once the landfill reaches its permitted elevations, Abbott said, but discussions are preliminary.
Even after a landfill is closed, Abbott said, it continues to settle due to waste decomposition. The landfill currently settles 6-8 inches annually.
For this reason, structures are not permitted on the property, but landfills often contain plant grass and plants so it looks like a natural ecosystem.
When the landfill does close, Republic Services will be responsible to maintain the property. For 30 years, they must put up post-closure bonds approved by the state. Abbott said the company plans to use funds set aside to maintain the site in accordance to its permit.
"People think that it's 'dig a hole in a ground and throw trash in it,' and, 'Why is my trash bill $20 a month?' When the landfill closes and everyone goes home and we filled up our permitted air space, we stop making money. But we're still environmentally responsible essentially forever because we have to carry bonds for 30 years and it costs us money to do all of this monitoring for 30 years after we shut the gate," Abbott said.
It's not uncommon for Republic Services to give tours of the landfill. It also will host an open house from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 4.