Clock ticking on space at the Central Landfill

No vacancy.

Officials predict that in about 20 years there will be no more room at the state Central Landfill – a place that, unfortunately, most Rhode Islanders rarely think about when they toss something into their household trash.

But the fact is that most of items we throw away – whether it be dirty diapers, a shoe without a mate, old photographers, a broken dish, batteries, mattresses – end up at in the mountainous landfill located off Shun Pike in Johnston.

Officials are studying the site with the goal of coming up with a plan, but all of that is still in the works.  The Cranston Herald recently took of a tour of the landfill as well as the other waste management operations that occupy the 1,200-acre Johnston property to see how the state’s waste is handled and what options there may be for the future.

The operations, which include recycling and wastewater pre-treatment, are managed by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC), a quasi-public agency formed by the General Assembly in 1974.

The tour was educational and eye-opening.  Some people may call the landfill a mountain of garbage and it is messy work, but strict rules govern almost every aspect of the operation. Environmental regulations include mandated daily coverage of the active areas of the landfill, litter control, leachate drainage, and the subterranean collection of gasses that in the past created noxious odors and contributed to the smoldering of trash buried deep within the landfill.

Lou Vergato, Executive Director of RIRRC, said the corporation likes to give public tours of the site to help educate the public on the challenges of properly managing the state’s trash, the work involved, and the progress that has been made over the years.

According to state reports, about 750,000 tons of waste are buried at the landfill annually.  It’s labor-intensive work, Vergato said, noting that regulations require that the site be kept relatively clean and litter free at almost all times – not an easy task when plastic bags that should have been recycled are blowing in the wind.   Mitigating measures, such as wind fences, are erected around areas where trash is being dumped, he said, and crews regular fan out to pick up rogue debris that has escaped the fences so it can be properly buried.

The corporation has about 150 employees, about 80-percent of whom work out in the field, in all kinds of weather.

Recycling matters

Twenty years is not necessarily a long time considering the work that will have to go into coming up with a solution for what to do with Rhode Island’s trash when the landfill is full.  When asked what the state’s plans are for an alternative, Rhodes said that there is no easy answer, but that sufficient and study and planning must be done to come up with viable options.

 Key factors that will be considered, he said, include costs, changing technologies, and recycling rates.  Current state law does not allow an incinerator as an option for the RIRCC, he said, adding that further expansion of the current landfill will be an “option to be considered.”

One key message that RIRRC wants to get across to the public for the sake of the future, he said, is that “recycling matters.”

While some nation and international reports question the effectiveness of recycling, Rhodes said that removing recyclables from the waste stream helps buy precious time for the limited landfill space and also benefits the environment.

“Extending the life of the landfill is all about reducing the amount of material that requires disposal,” Rhodes wrote in response to questions that RIRRC asked to be sent in writing to the corporation. “(We) suggest focusing on maximizing the impact that the State’s current recycling laws and existing mixed recycling program can have in reducing Rhode Island’s disposal demand.”

He said that a 2022 report shows that “when Rhode Islanders take the time to participate in the (recycling) program and do so correctly they return real benefits to themselves and their neighbors.”

He noted that the mixed recycling program resulted in roughly 70,000 tons of recyclables being sold back into commodity markets in 2022 -- preventing that tonnage from having to be landfilled.

“To put this in perspective,” Rhodes said, “70,000 tons is roughly the same amount of waste that the City of Providence disposed of at the landfill over this same time frame.  So, in other words, every year the program performs to this level it saves another year’s worth of disposal capacity for approximately 140,000 Rhode Islanders.

“Recycling definitely matters.”

By the numbers

Of the roughly 1,200 acres the RIRRC oversees in Johnston, the landfill takes up about 290 acres and is permitted for 390 acres, the corporation states on its website.   Elevation-wise, it rise about 250-feet from its base to the top, and its peak is about 560-feet above sea level.  The slopes of the areas that are no longer active have been “capped” with layers of vegetative material that is green even in winter.   The other areas are covered daily with loose earth.  

The daily operations can get muddy and messy but heavy equipment helps compact the trash, and Vergato said on clear days, the elevation affords crews and visitors  views of Providence, the Fall River landfill, the Jamestown Bridge and the Newport Bridge.

Despite some locals derisive claim that the state’s highest point is a heap of garbage, that is not true, the RIRRC is quick to point out.  The highest point in Rhode Island is Jerimoth Hill in Foster at about 812 feet above sea level.

One of the key facilities that RIRRC operates adjacent to the landfill is the state’s recycling center, the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF).  Referred to informally as the ‘Murf’, the cavernous building houses a labyrinth of conveyor belts and sorting mechanisms.  Since Rhode Island accepts “mixed” recyclables, paper products, cans, and bottles arrive in a jumble at the facility and have to be separated so they can be bundled for transport to facilities in the U.S., Canada and overseas where they can be made into new products.  On average, about 385 ton of recyclables are sorted at the MRF every day.

The sprawling RIRRC property also includes composting sites, a wastewater pre-treatment plant which treats the leachate that is drained from the landfill through an underground collection system, and an Eco-Depot where the public can safely dispose of hazardous household materials such as propane tanks, lighter fluids, pesticides, and automotive and rechargeable batteries.  On average, the wastewater facility pre-treats about 300,000 gallons of leachate per day. It is required to bring the landfill discharge in compliance with standards that allow it to be accepted by the Narragansett Bay Commission for further processing.

Vergato and Jared Rhodes, Director of Policy and Programs at RIRRC, said the corporation is always working to try to educate the public on the proper disposal of items and on the importance of recycling.  Its outreach efforts include regular visits to schools throughout the state.