| The landfill site is located eight miles east of Green River and the desolate location will be an ideal spot for the landfill. Green River Mayor Glen Dale Johnson stands at the future site of the railroad spur. |
Solid waste management was the purpose for a tour held Sept. 18 in southeastern Utah. State legislators, county representatives, city representatives and other concerned parties met for a full day tour of three Utah facilities.
ECDC was the first stop on the day’s agenda. The group was given the basics on the operation of this facility and how it handles the solid waste that is shipped to East Carbon. ECDC has a Class 5 waste disposal permit. This permit allows the facility to handle municipal solid waste from in and out of state locations, although it does not allow for the disposal of radioactive or hazardous waste.
The group was taken to ECDC as an introduction into the proposal by Solitude Landfill and RPP (RollPressPack). Solitude and RPP recently merged to form the UTEX Company. Solitude is awaiting word on the approval of the new Class 5 permit for their landfill site east of Green River. With the railroad spur awaiting approval, the new permit acquistion will ensure the timely opening of the site. Construction is scheduled to begin in October.
Their second stop was the John Wesley Powell Museum to meet with Mayor Glen Dale Johnson, of Green River, and Bob Mascaro, of Infill Companies, to discuss the Solitude project and view the site. The group met for a presentation by Mascaro, explaining the solid waste handling system that will be in use at the Green River facility.
Solitude’s site is located approximately eight miles east of Green River and cannot be seen from the town, nor can it be seen from I-70. The site is 320 acres and has the capacity to dispose of 22 million cubic yards of waste.
With the approval of the Class 5 license, Solitude has expansion plans and could possibly accommodate additional regional clients. Based on 50 cents per ton, Solitude will generate nearly $10 million in fees to the state of Utah over the life of the landfill. Expansion could raise that figure substantially.
The landfill site has been in process and development since former Mayor Rey Lloyd Hatt started the ball rolling in 1989. During the terms of four different mayors, the landfill company has been working with the city to make the solid waste disposal facility a reality. The land is barren and unproductive and has no surface or groundwater, and cannot be used for farming. A landfill is an ideal business to bring industry to Green River. All land surrounding the site belongs to the Bureau of Land Management or is school trust land. There is no private property around the site.
All solid waste brought into the Green River site will be pre-baled. In this baling process, the waste will be sorted to remove any hazardous materials, then sent into the baling machine. This process is an extremely efficient baling process that compacts the waste into bales that are compressed with 2,400 pounds per cubic yard pressure and wrapped into bundles for transportation. A complete bale will weigh 15,000 pounds.
The bales will arrive on flatbed trucks until the rail spur work is complete, afterwhich, all the remaining waste bales will be transported on rail cars. With the process of compaction and wrapping, there is no smell associated with the landfill site.
Also, rodents are not a problem due to the inaccessability of the waste.
Some residents have voiced a concern for the water supply from the waste disposal site. Mascaro informed the group that because of the air-tight, water-tight baling process, there will be no leakage from the stored bales. Due to the fact that there is no water flowing in the area, there is no anticipated problem with anything leeching into the water supply.
Up to this point, Solitude has not asked Green River City for any financial inducements and has only offered to help with whatever can be done to help the process along. They have also been instrumental in helping the city of Green River with Melon Days celebrations. For this year’s celebration, Solitude provided the funding for the children’s rides and entertainment. Mayor Glen Dale Johnson said, “With 973 people living in Green River, and both the parents in all the families working more than one job, the full time positions that this project will provide will be of great help to the citizens of Green River. Not only will at least 20 people have jobs with benefits, but the additional revenue to the city will be a benefit to every citizen in Green River.”