Landfill Mining and Materials Processing for Beneficial Use: A

Case Study

Billy Newcomb, Draper Aden Associates-and-

Michael T. Dorsey, Fauquier County

Virginia Location

Facility

Fauquier County

Facilities

Landfill #575

Landfill #149C&D Recycling Facility

Recycling Center

1.3 Million CYUnused

Landfill Capacity

Sanitary Landfill #1491993 - Liability or Asset?

ClosurePost-Closure

Liability

Asset

VA HB1205Vertical ExpansionAccept Regional

C&D

2005 - #149 Landfill Reaching Capacity

Decision Point

Revenue Loss

Permit #575 Landfill Capacity

Loss

Extreme Recycling

Terminate Regional C&D

Waste

Accept Regional C&D

Waste

Subtitle D Landfill

ContinueRegional C&D

Waste Disposal at #149

Landfill Closure Extreme Recycling - C&D Mining – Piggyback Landfill Expansion

Closure: $3,500,000 Mining 20+ Years

Post-Closure : $70,000/year

Defer Closure & Post-Closure Care

Forces Relocation of Other Facilities

Add 4 million cubic yards of landfill volume

“Brownfield” Landfill

Environmental improvements (adding liner)

Recycling: metal, inerts, wood, plastics

Recover 500,000+ cubic yards of fines for beneficial use to

replace soil (soil poor facility)

Closure vs. Extreme Recycling (Landfill Mining + Recycling +

Piggyback)

Landfill Mining and Beneficial Uses

Landfill Expansion

Area

Landfill Mining/Piggyback

Mining

Cross Section Line

Final MSW Piggyback Elevation

2006 Top C&D Fill Mining

Project

Piggyback Base Grade

MSW

Mining/Piggyback Schematic Cross Section

Mining and Processing Operations

Excavation Operators Pre-Screen MaterialMeta

l

Inert

PowerScreen™ Separating Mined Materials

Large Materials are Further Sorted for Recycling

Intermediates (2 to 5-inch) – Still Wrestling with Processing this

Material

Fines – Alternate Daily and Intermediate Cover

Beneficial Use of Fines (Limitations)

0

100

200

300

400

500

Processed Fines - Total Petroleum Hydro-carbon Concentration (mg/kg)

Chemical Characterization of FinesHistorically Detected

Analytes

Total Result

(mg/kg)

Leaching Result (mg/L)

Arsenic 9.55 Non-detectBarium 85 Non-detect

Beryllium 1.2 Non-detectCadmium 0.43 Non-detectChromium 41 Non-detect

Cobalt 17 Non-detectCopper 73 Non-detectLead 33 Non-detect

Nickel 24 Non-detectThallium 0.2 Non-detect

Vanadium 50 Non-detectZinc 230 Non-detect

Acetone 0.09 Non-detectAcenaphthene 0.09 Non-detect

Acenaphthylene 0.29 Non-detectSum of PAHs 3.94 Non-detect

Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate 0.73 Non-detectButyl Benzyl phthalate 0.1 Non-detect

Ethyl 4,4'-Dichlorobenzilate 0.4 Non-detectDi-n-octyl phthalate 0.3 Non-detect

Sulfide 33 Non-detectSulfate 17,500 1,300

Asbestos / Organic Content nd / 4% n/a

Passive Attenuation of TPH in Fines

Long-term Stock Pile Composite Sample Results (mg/kg)

Sample date: 8/10/2012 10/29/2013

   

Static or Mixed:

(static pile)

(mixed pile)

(static pile)

(mixed pile)

TPH 470 230 68 85

Sulfate 22,000 20,000 21,000 23,000

Results reported on a dry weight basis.

Physical Characteristics of Fines for Alternate Cover

• No Odor Complaints (Initially Concerned about Putrescible Content and Hydrogen Sulfide)

• No Observed Employee Respiratory or Other Health Symptoms

• Less Erosion Compared to Soils• Equipment Traction was Excellent• No Blowing Litter or Scavenging and

Disease Vectors• Dust Suppression was Required• Vegetative Ability was Lacking;

Relatively High pH (7 to 8 range)

Fines Applied for Intermediate Cover

Fines Resist Erosion in Rain

Processed Fines Cover

Soil Cover

Fines Intermediate Cover – Vegetation

Landfill Mining Pilot Operating Efficiency

  2011 2012 2013

Mining PeriodJune 6 – Sept

2 July 12 – Aug

24Sept 3 – Oct

29

Weeks 13 6 8

Volume Mined (Cubic Yards)

Not surveyed 6,027 10,790

Mining Expense ($)

163,450 93,881 110,003

Mining Expense ($/Cubic Yard)

--- 15.58 10.19

Conclusion – Questions?

Thank you!

for more information, please contact:

Billy Newcomb, P.G.Draper Aden Associates

bnewcomb@daa.com

Regulatory Path for Mining and Fines Evaluation

• 2005 Master Plan• 2006 C&D Recycling Facility Operational• 2007 - Landfill Mining Proof of Concept

VDEQ Concerned with Disposition of Fines, Testing Frequency and Acceptable Quality

• 2010 - VDEQ approved Mining Permit Amendment with Beneficial Use Demonstration (BUD)

• 2011-2013 - Evaluate Mining Operations Efficiency, Chemical Characteristics of Fines, Physical Characteristics of Fines