BATH — If the city landfill seems a little more pungent at times in the next few weeks, it’s due to an expansion of its gas management system.
The landfill emits methane and other gases, and a flare installed in 2008 burns off those gases to eradicate foul odors and reduce the landfill’s carbon footprint.
Methane remains in the atmosphere for 15-20 years and is about 20 times more effective than carbon in holding in heat, giving it its designation as a greenhouse gas, according to Public Works Director Peter Owen.
With trash adding up, more piping is needed to draw gas away from the waste and burn it off through the flare. The project, which is scheduled to run through late September or early October, also involves building a new access road, and the intermediate covering with heavy plastic sheets of about an acre of previous waste.
Crooker Construction is the project’s general contractor, and city landfill consultant Sevee & Maher Engineers will monitor contractor activities during the work, according to the city website.
The work will include digging two trenches into the landfill, placing collection pipes in the trenches, and connecting the new pipes to the gas collection system and flare.
While combustion of the gases creates some carbon dioxide, “in the end, the net is that you’re a lot better off not emitting the methane, even though you’re emitting a little bit more carbon dioxide,” Deputy Public Works Director Lee Leiner said Monday.
For every 30-40 feet of vertical increase in the trash level, the city must install another layer of piping, he explained, noting that “it’s not really an expansion … outwards, but it’s sort of a stacking on top of itself.”
While much could be said about the scientific process of the nature of waste decomposition, Leiner put it simply: “New trash, new gas, new pipes.”
Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.
Bath is expanding the gas management system at its city landfill, installing new piping for new layers of waste.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.