SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT The Story of London’s W12A Landfill Site

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The city is London. The story is garbage.

Like every story there has to be a beginning, for garbage the starting point is our homes and businesses. It is where we work and where we live. We are responsible for the waste we create. Some of us throw away little, some a lot, but eventually it all has to go somewhere. In some cases the materials we are discarding can be recycled, or composted. But some of us just throw it out, now that’s real waste. The remainder becomes garbage and is sent to the landfill site. How it gets there is a big part of the story. About 70% of London homes have curbside pick up for garbage. The others have access to large metal bins which are picked up by specialized garbage trucks. Curbside garbage pick up in London operates on a 6-day cycle, excluding weekends and statutory holidays. You can’t just leave garbage out on the street in any form and you can’t leave everything. There are rules for garbage pick up. In fact, the rules are laws governed by the City’s Waste Collection By-law. Everyone gets a copy of the general rules. It’s called the City of London Waste Reduction and Conservation Calendar and it’s delivered to homes and businesses every fall. The rules outline what is an acceptable garbage container, the dates for garbage pick up, the types of garbage that are not collectible and even include a map for locating City depots and local recycling businesses. It’s there to help and if you have questions all the contact numbers are listed. Give them a call.

7:00 a.m. -18 curbside garbage trucks with two driver/loaders per vehicle roll out of the City Works Yard and head for designated routes. Garbage pick up begins at 7:00 a.m. It’s a 5-day a week job, rain or shine, summer heat or the icy chill of winter.

9:00 a.m. - [Focusing on one of the vehicles] The two person crew has been collecting for two hours and the truck is almost full. Another 30 minutes or so and the load will be complete and the compacted garbage will head off to the landfill site. The crew has picked up just about everything left on the curbside as garbage. Someone however has been renovating a home and has placed used building material on the curb. The crew is not allowed to take the drywall or lumber. Another homeowner must have run out of green garbage bags and substituted small white grocery bags. These are also not allowed for pick up. When they get home and see the material still there they may check the Waste Reduction and Conservation Calendar and identify their error or they may call the Customer Service number at City Hall (519-661-4570) to ask why their garbage was left. Either action will provide them with the answer.

9:45 a.m. - The first couple of hours have been a typical day for this crew. They have taken turns driving and loading to give each other a rest. Nine tonnes of garbage sit on board from over 500 homes. The crew has emptied about 400 containers of garbage; has thrown about 1,000 bags into the back of the truck; has tossed in about 20 mattresses plus another 100 pieces of miscellaneous furniture. A sip of coffee is well deserved as the crew heads off to unload their efforts.

10:15 a.m. - The crew is on its way to the City of London landfill site. It’s called W12A Landfill and it is located on Manning Drive, off Wellington Road, south of the 401. The City of London garbage truck pulls onto the weigh scale at W12A. The weight is recorded and the driver receives the okay to proceed to the area currently accepting waste material.

10:25 a.m. - The compacted garbage is dumped and as the truck pulls away, a large bulldozer moves in and takes over. It will spread the garbage evenly on the ground and then a landfill compactor will compress the material. The goal is to squeeze the garbage into as small an area as possible. This will create a well-compacted cell and allow the landfill to operate as it was designed and to last as long as possible. Space is a precious item in the landfill.

10:30 a.m. - The garbage truck and its crew are heading back into the City to continue pick up. Each City garbage truck makes the trip twice a day. The job continues and by late afternoon City streets will be cleared of green bags and garbage cans.

Early that evening, in another area of the city, homeowners will begin to bring their trash and Blue Boxes to the curbside while many residents will wait until morning. In either case, another day is about to unfold in the garbage story.

The Purpose of this Story The following information has been compiled to provide an overview of the City's W12A Landfill Site including the site's operation, environmental protection measures and current and future studies.

The document also introduces the reader to the daily garbage collection process and summarizes achievements made in diverting waste away from the landfill.

Waste management solutions and strategies are continually reviewed and enhanced and this report delivers examples of how London has worked to improve performance. In the future, as changes are made to the landfill, this document will be updated to reflect additions and improvements.

Understanding Waste Management The broad field of waste management is a complex discipline that includes, but is not limited to, environmental protection, public education, waste reduction, recycling, composting, garbage collection, landfill construction and maintenance, data gathering and analysis, government regulation, and public relations. For municipal governments it requires staff that is continually learning new strategies, complying with government regulations and adapting and advancing techniques of waste diversion, collection and disposal. In London, the program is referred to as the Continuous Improvement System. Actions must benefit not only today's residents but also those who will call London home 20 years from now and beyond.

Waste management touches every person who lives in the city. It is an essential and highly visible service. In fact residents are one of the cornerstones of a successful waste management system as their participation and willingness to protect the environment helps to drive the system to higher levels.

City of London garbage truck enters W12A Landfill, Manning Drive

Waste Disposal - Protecting the Environment The W12A Landfill Site is a well-designed and well-managed waste management disposal area. Opened in 1977, the landfill is expected to meet the needs of the City of London for another 15 years based on current disposal trends over the last several years. The landfill covers 142 hectares (190 football fields) of which one quarter is set aside as “buffer” lands. The site is designed, operated and monitored according to the requirements of the Certificate of Approval which is issued by the governing body for waste disposal, the Ministry of the Environment (Provincial Government).

The landfill is built to do the job of containing garbage. The design and components make the facility as environmentally friendly as possible. The trained and experienced operations staff monitors the site daily.

Protecting Groundwater Preparing the landfill begins with digging “cells” into the thick clay soils that lie under the site. The W12A Landfill is located on a very deep and tightly packed clay deposit that acts as a natural barrier and filter. The cells are dug out to an average depth of 3.5 metres and the base area is prepared for receiving garbage. This includes the installation of a “leachate collection system”. In old cells the collection system used drainage pipes placed around the outside of the cell. In new cells the drainage pipes are placed around and underneath the waste. A layer of stone is laid to allow drainage to the pipes and then a non-woven geotextile liner is placed over the stone. A layer of sand is spread on top of the liner. This layering process keeps waste material from clogging the drainage pipes. Groundwater monitoring keeps track of the quality of water under and around the landfill. This monitoring provides an “early warning system” for any movement of leachate-contaminated groundwater away from the landfill. Because of the landfill design, the likelihood of leachate seeping into the groundwater is remote. There are more than 30 monitoring wells at the landfill.

Construction of new cell and collection system.

Groundwater quality is tested at more than 30 sites.

Clay soils below the landfill are 10 to 20 metres (33 to 66 feet) thick, groundwater moves at 1 to 2 cm per year in the clay soils. Any of the leachate not collected slowly moves through the tightly packed clay soil and a process called “natural attenuation” takes place. This is the earth’s natural cleansing process that breaks down most chemical compounds to simple non-harmful

states. The clay also traps metals such as lead and mercury.

Definition of

Leachate Contaminated water,

called leachate, is created in all landfills.

It is created when rain, melting snow or liquid within garbage,

filters through the waste picking up and

carrying with it dissolved materials.

31%

47%

22%

Incoming truck is weighed and inspected at the scale house.

In order to maximize the lifespan of the facility, care is taken to only dispose of acceptable materials. The trucks compact the material picked up at the curbside. Once compaction has occurred there is no way to remove any items from the garbage. This means that materials that should have been recycled or composted will take up valuable space at the landfill.

Each year, 30,000-40,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas are destroyed. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, this yields the same environmental benefit as removing 7,500-10,000 cars off the road permanently or the equivalent to planting

180,000 to 240,000 trees every year.

Protecting the Air Since 2004, the City of London has been collecting and destroying landfill gas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and potential odours. When garbage decomposes it can produce gases and unpleasant smells. The decomposition process also generates methane, a greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide (the gas emitted from our cars). A drilling process inserts pipes into the landfill and the gas is safely collected and contained. Methane is a flammable gas, similar to the natural gas used to heat your home. The methane is burned in a large flare thereby eliminating gas smells and converting the methane to a weaker carbon dioxide gas. The collection and conversion of landfill gas plays a key part in the City of London’s climate change reduction strategy.

Protecting Surface Water Surface runoff from the buffer lands and completed waste disposal areas is directed to a series of stormwater management ponds. These ponds remove sediments from the surface water before it leaves the site and can be closed if the need arises. Water leaving the ponds is tested regularly to ensure that its quality has not been impaired.

WASTE TAKEN TO W12A LANDFILL (2007) Screening what goes into the landfill site. This process begins at the curbside by the collection crews and continues through to the site. Incoming trucks are

City Operations 30 %

London Business

28%

Residential 42 %

weighed and inspected at the scale house. The data is used for multiple purposes including calculating revenue from tipping fees (waste disposal by non-City vehicles) and to keep an accurate record of the amount of waste entering the facility. Recording how the numbers change and developing an understanding of trends in waste disposal help the Solid Waste Management team in planning and

organizing for the future. Space is precious at a landfill site.

Surface runoff contained in stormwater management ponds.

London Business

Residential

City Operations

Gas collection and flare

No. 2/3

Date: September 2008

Compacting the Garbage After passing through the scale house, the trucks dump the waste into the cell. Heavy equipment such as compactors (specially designed bulldozers) push the waste in the cell and drive back and forth over the material to compact it even more. The garbage is packed into as small an area as possible. This process is repeated hundreds of times a day until the cell is full. At the end of a workday a layer of soil is spread over the cell. This layer keeps rodents and birds from scavenging the area and also works as an odour barrier.

When an Area is Filled When sections of the landfill are completely filled a permanent covering is placed on top. This is also called “capping”. The permanent cap is made of 0.85 metres (2 3/4 feet) of soil and 0.15 metres (6 inches) of topsoil. Grass is then planted to prevent erosion by rain and wind. The landfill site is now completed but monitoring continues and any leachate continues to be collected and treated.

Operational Challenges The W12A Landfill Site has additional challenges associated with its function. Everyone tries to be a good neighbour but sometimes the issue for the landfill staff is more challenging especially on a windy day, for example. The facility is equipped with permanent and moveable litter fences designed to trap blowing garbage. Keeping the site as clean as possible is an ongoing task. The same principle applies to the overall “look” of the landfill. The outside buffer area is ringed with grass-covered berms designed to make the perimeter attractive. The higher ground of this area also helps trap the sounds of the heavy

equipment used to compact and move the garbage. Trees are also planted to reduce the line of sight into the facility. When the soil is spread as a cover for the cell area the unpleasant odour associated with waste disposal is reduced. Waste management staff is constantly on the lookout for new methods to reduce the “side effects” of the waste disposal operation.

Garbage is compacted down to save space.

With compaction at the landfill an average family’s yearly garbage is reduced to 1

cubic metre (a space about the size of your refrigerator)

Grass planted on capped landfill to prevent erosion

Portable litter fences help contain loose garbage in windy conditions.

Other Facilities

• Household Special Waste Depot: Residents from the City of London drop-off used paint, oil and other materials that require special handling. These materials are shipped off-site for recycling or special disposal.

• Electronics Recycling Depot: London residents can drop-off electronic equipment such as TVs, computers, monitors, VCRs, printers, scanners, stereos, etc. for recycling.

• Public Waste and Recycling Drop-off Area: London residents may drop-off scrap metal and blue box materials for recycling at no charge. Small loads of household waste can be disposed of at the landfill site and residents are charged according to the weight of the material. This charge is called a tipping fee.

Other Initiatives

• Using Tires in the Leachate Collection System The City of London has received approval from the Ministry of the Environment to use shredded tires, instead of “clear stone”, on the sideslopes of landfill to promote drainage. Using old tires in this manner helps create the new markets required for the millions of tires discarded each year.

• Using Coloured Glass in Gravel Crushed coloured glass has been incorporated into gravel used for the construction of a pad for the Electronics Recycling drop-off area. It is hoped that this product will result in the development of a local market for coloured glass.

Paint cans are stacked in HSW Depot at W12A.

Last year more than 10,000 Londoners delivered their Household Special Waste to the W12A site.

250,000 tires will be used in lining the sideslopes of the landfill.

Major Continuous Improvement Projects Leachate Management The City has completed a Class Environmental Assessment to determine the best way to manage the millions of litres of leachate produced by the landfill each year. The City will construct a Leachate Pre-treatment Facility adjacent to the W12A Landfill Site. This facility will “pre-treat” leachate from the landfill and septage from area haulers before pumping it through a new forcemain to the City’s existing

The City of London has undertaken an Area Study for the W12A Landfill to plan for the continued evolution of the landfill. To date, several alternatives have been developed, analyzed and presented at public meetings and open houses, thereby allowing for discussion with the community. Components such as a property protection and acquisition program, community enhancement fund and protection of groundwater & the environment have all been examined. This process will ensure that the necessary parts of an environmentally and economically sound integrated waste management system are in place to serve the needs of the City for years to come.

Community Enhancement and Mitigative Measures Program The City is developing a Community Enhancement and Mitigative Measures Program to address and reduce the effects of the landfill on neighbouring properties. It is expected that the Community Enhancement Program will have three components. A property value protection plan for persons who wish to move or sell agricultural land as they should not lose money on their properties due to the proximity of their property to the landfill. A “Community Enhancement Fund” would be established to address mitigative measures and special circumstances in the broader community. A Public Liaison Committee to serve as a focal point for dissemination, review and exchange of information and monitoring results relevant to the operation of the landfill.

Looking Ahead Any future expansion to the service area and capacity of the landfill must have approval under the Environmental Assessment Act, Environmental Protection Act, Ontario Water Resources Act and other such approvals. This process would require that an Environmental Assessment (EA) be completed. An EA is a planning process used to study various ways to solve a problem. The EA takes into account the potential environmental effects and measures that can reduce the impact. Public input is a critical part of an EA process.

The leachate is collected via the drainage pipes into the underground

holding tanks and then trucked off-site for treatment. Construction of the new Leachate Pre-treatment

Facility will eliminate the need totransport the leachate.

Landfill Gas Power Generation The City is currently investigating options to use the gas collected at the landfill to generate power. Presently, there is enough landfill

gas being collected to generate 1 megawatt of power.

sanitary sewer system.

W12A Landfill Area Study

Saving Landfill Space

Waste Diversion The most effective waste management program is waste diversion and the first part of waste diversion is reduction. If a material is not discarded in the first place, it does not require further management (and the costs associated with it). The second part is by keeping materials that can be recycled or composted out of the landfill site, we create space for “real” garbage and we add years of operating life to the landfill. In 2006, we reached a significant milestone on the waste diversion road - 40% waste diversion was achieved in London. We’ve come a long way since 1989 when only 4% of residential waste was diverted from landfill. What made the difference? Certainly the introduction of the Blue Box Program in 1990 allowed us to make significant inroads, but moreover it has been the commitment of Londoners to continuously increase the amount of waste that is recycled through the expansion of this program or composted through newer City initiatives. Today’s waste management initiatives divert 40% of residential waste from the landfill. Londoners have enthusiastically embraced the various waste diversion programs offered by the City or private businesses. The numbers prove this. Since 1987 Londoners have reduced the amount of garbage produced per person from 420 kilograms in 1987 to 247 kilograms in 2007. The City is currently looking at programs and initiatives that will divert 60% of its residential waste away from disposal. Details of this review can be found in the document A Road Map to Maximize Waste Diversion, located on the City’s website at www.london.ca.

Other Diversion Activities e.g. Household Special Waste

Organics Management e.g. leaf & yard waste compost

Recycling

Waste diversion only works when people are on side and in London the numbers speak volumes. Ninety percent of residents participate in the curbside recycling program.

City of London Population Growth

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Year 1977 250,000 1987 283,000 1990 298,000 2002 356,000

Year 2011 374,000 2016 392,000 2021 410,000 2026 436,000 2031 441,000

City of London - W12A Landfill Site - Facts and Figures – 2014

• landfill opened in 1977 • covers 142 hectares (about 240 football fields) of which 107 hectares (about 180 football fields) will

be used for waste disposal • approximately 8 million tonnes of waste have been deposited • will accommodate an additional 2 to 2.5 million tonnes over the next 9-10 years (depending on

annual fill rates) • receives approximately 220,000 tonnes of residential, City operations and London business garbage

annually (about 3 football fields filled with garbage four stories high) • approximately 100 large waste vehicles deliver waste daily • approximately 10 kilometres of leachate collection pipe have been installed to date and another

3 kilometers will be installed by the time the landfill is fully developed • 210 million litres of leachate was collected and treated in 2014 • approximately 5 kilometres of landfill gas collection pipe have been installed to date and another 3

kilometers to be installed by the time the landfill is fully developed • 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases captured and destroyed in 2014 • 4 stormwater management ponds constructed • 6 surface water sampling stations and over 30 groundwater monitoring wells • over 100 water samples collected annually for testing • operating costs in 2014 were approximately $3.5 million; revenues were approximately $3.2 million • capital costs in 2014 were approximately $0.5 million (these costs change significantly from year to

year depending on what projects are undertaken) • contribution to the Sanitary Landfill Reserve Fund in 2014 was $2 million

Contacts for Additional Information

For additional information, contact:

John Whitworth Manager, Solid Waste Facilities Telephone: (519) 661-2500 ext. 0648 Email: jwhitwor@london.ca

Jay Stanford, M.A., M.P.A. Director Environment, Fleet & Solid Waste Telephone: (519) 661-2500 ext. 5411 E-mail: jstanfor@london.ca

Mike Losee Division Manager, Solid Waste Management Telephone: (519) 661-2500 ext. 7369 E-mail: mlosee@london.ca