Landfill Litter

Garbage Collection in Kangiqliniq, Nunavut

2012-03-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

Rankin Inlet -40 C

"Kangiqliniq"is the Inuit word for deep inlet. The English name for this community is Rankin Inlet. Rankin Inlet is on the west shores of Hudson Bay near the 63 parallel, about 1770 km north of Winnipeg (1100 miles). It is now the first week of March and day time temperatures have been below -30 C. Past couple of days have had a wind chill down to -60. Yesterday was particularly nasty.

The population is about 2,300 and is about 80 % Inuit so that it is a fascinating opportunity to have a glimpse at the Inuit culture. There are 830 registered vehicles - mostly trucks and SUV's. Snowmobiles do not need to be registered, but I would have to guess there at least as many snowmobiles, if not more, around town. We have seen the odd ATV, but I expect we'd see more in summer months.

Polar Bear Hides

On a tour of the Town, we saw several homes where animal skins and furs were hanging on racks outside. We have seen Arctic fox, caribou skins, wolverines, and polar bear skins. Almost everyone has fur trim on their winter clothing, and with the recent windy sub-freezing temperatures, we came to understand why. Locals wearing store bought coats have sewn on fur trim to shield them from the elements.

Rear Loader - Cleaning out Co-op Dumpster

Waste collection in Rankin Inlet is done with a rear loader compactor truck. The town only has one truck. Residents have 205 L drums on the street in front of their houses for household wastes. 3 and 4 cubic yard dumpster bins are spotted at a few of the businesses. Snow piles up over winter around these bins and the barrels. Some are half buried in the snow cover.

Household garbabe barrels

There are no recycling programs in the community. Everything goes into trash bins and the barrels. Even beverage containers go into the trash. We 'southerners' are so use to placing beverage containers and paper in separate bins, it almost seemed awkward to us to throw in all in to one can. But recycling is expensive and transportation of materials to a reliable market is expensive and seasonally limited. The only transportation route outside the community is either by ship or by air. There are no road systems and rail systems in this part of the county.

The town provides twice a week collection. The collection crew stops at each household stop and hand bombs out of the barrels into the truck hopper.   They do the same at the commercial bins. We observed the collectors picking up waste at the Co-op store and watched them lean over the edge of the bin to reach the bottom to pick out the waste to throw in into the truck.   I expect the same practice would happen at the barrels used at households.

This would seem to be a very inefficient method of collection, but you need to put it all into context. Why twice a week collection? That seems expensive and unwarranted, especially in such a cold environment. But, as we observed during our week in Rankin, the garbage bins are continually visited by Ravens. Ravens are a very intelligent and strong bird.  If the garbage is left too long, the ravens will pick away at the garbage bags, tear them open and scatter them around. They can make a real mess.   So the twice weekly collection reduces the mess that the ravens create.

While we were here, the collection truck had a hydraulic line break and was out of service, so we could see what happens as the waste piles up in and around the bins.   Since there are only 2 mechanics in town, sometimes repairs can take quite some time as there is always a line up of vehicles to be repaired. We haven't heard the status of the garbage truck repair, but I would hope it gets some priority on the repair list.

One could also suggest that the method of collection is labour intensive, time consuming, and fraught with safety issues.   Automated collection is not an option here because of the snowfall that would make bin access difficult, if not impossible.   Costs of everything in this part of the county is high and garbage cans are expensive, but barrels are free. There are lots of barrels because goods are brought in barrels, but the barrels never leave, so they are used for waste cans.

Jobs are scarce in communities like this, so adding extra labour to collect waste helps create needed jobs. That is a benefit to the community in many ways. I learned this a few years ago when I worked on a project for the Bahamas. Garbage collection in that case was considered a 'make work' project, so 4 man crews made sense to them. Here, the truck has a 3 man crew and runs 5 days a week.

Rankin Inlet Landfill

The waste is taken to the local landfill on the outskirts of town. Landfills in these northern communities tend to be close to town because there aren't many roads out of town, if any roads at all. Most of the communities, as we have learned, practice open burning to reduce waste volume, but also because they need to discourage polar bears feeding at their landfill. Rankin Inlet does not burn at their landfill because it is located too close to the airport runway. The town has a new site that has yet to be used, but it is also close to the runway and burning will not be an option. Also, as you might imagine, obtaining cover material for the landfills is difficult both because of the freezing temperatures and because of the type of geology many site are situated in.

The Rankin Inlet landfill does not have a gate, nor is it manned. This is also the normal practice in Nunavut. When the town had planned to open the new site, word got around town, and mysteriously, the fencing that was around the site started to disappear. Someone said that shortly after that, there was some nice chain link fencing that seemed to appear at the sled dog compounds that are around town.

Nunavut Training

We've spent the past 5 days in a classroom with community public works staff from all across Nunavut. These people came from places like Grise Fiord, Resolute Bay, Cambridge Bay, Arviat, Pangnirtung, Kimmirut. The focus of the training program is hazardous wastes. The time spent in Nunavut provides the background on the issues and methods to control improper disposal in the local landfills. The course provides the basics of classify these wastes, how to properly store and how to prepare for transport. The major obstacles that still exist are the cost of tranporting these wastes out, and the difficulty in finding reliable receivers of these materials in the south.

In a few weeks time, the folks that came to the course will make a trip to Edmonton where they will be give additional training for CFC removal and certification, International Marine Transportation of Dangerous Goods, and they will be getting hands on experience in handling and sorting household hazardous waste at the City of Edmonton EcoStations. They will also visit Edmonton area landfills and will be given a tour of Edmonton's world class waste management facilities.

Metal Pile on Shore of Hudson Bay

At the end of yesterday's training, Arnie took us on a tour of the town for the second time. This time he treated us to a trip across the ice on Hudson Bay. It is quite safe because the ice is thick and the salt water is bouyant. When we returned to town, we went by a water front property that was piled with old equipment and other metals. We encountered large piles of metal in Iqaluit last year, and we've heard from all the communities of their rather large metal stockpiles. In last years training course, 'Mike' told us about the very old and large metal pile at Cape Dorset. We were skeptical until we 'google earth'd" cape dorset and could see the extensive outline of the metal he was talking about. Basically everything that goes up to these towns, stays there. A lot of the metal dates back to the 1940's and before. There are options, but again, the financial resources are limited.

After we finished the course today, the folks from Cambridge Bay told me that they had a discussion the evening before and were going to make changes in the way they do things because of what they had learned over the past few days. Cambridge Bay has a new landfill and had undertaken a large clean up of their metal piles over the past year. The unfortunate part of this story is that the metal was burried - not recycled. But that's the economic reality that they face with getting this material to a market.

This is the second year of training for Nunavut. At some point, we hope to have developed trainers in Nunavut to take our place. Unfortunately, that will mean that I won't have the great pleasure of traveling to Nunavut, enjoying the culture of the north, and working with these great people.
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HHW Training in Nunavut

2012-03-02T19:45:00.001-08:00

Today is our 5th day in Rankin Inlet for the Nunavut Hazardous Waste Training for the communities in the territory. As it was last year, it has proven to be an interesting and very enjoyable experience. I was initially involved in the development of the training manual about 4 years ago and it makes one feel rewarded when the people taking the course are so positive about what they are learning.

Dealing with all waste materials, not just hazardous wastes, is a great challenge in this part of the country. Community landfills are not designed or equipped to handle many materials as our landfills in the provinces to the south. This is in part because of limited financial and knowledgeable resources. Collecting these materials and sending them south is not an easy task. It can be collected, but then shipping arrangements by ship or barge needs to be arranged and well planned out. Obstacles to ship hazardous materials include not having local staff trained to handled, package, and prepare the proper paperwork to ship it out. But that is part of what this training program will provide them.

But even with all that, the other issues is finding somewhere to send the stuff that is collected. Once it goes on the barge, it has to have some place to go. The challenge is finding those places that will accept it and handle it properly. Because it is going into other jurisdictions, the shipping process and necessary paperwork must also deal with the regulatory requirements in those other jurisdictions. And in Canada, that can vary from Province to Province.

Aside from the training, one of the great experiences we get out of the training is the opportunity to meet the Inuit people and learn about their culture and way of life in the north. During my walks around town, I stopped a few people grabbed my interest. I asked them if I could take their photograph, and all were not only willing to let me photograph them, but were genuinely happy to do so. So here are a few of the photos that these folks let me take.

Back To Nunavut

2012-01-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

Last week we had a meeting with the group of 3 who is traveling to Nunavut for the second round of HHW training for Nunavut Landfill operators. Last February we made the trip to Iqaluit on the east coast of Baffin Island, just a bit south of the arctic circle.

This years adventure is the last week of February and we go to a place called Rankin Inlet. Rankin is on the west shores of Hudson Bay, somewhere way north of Winnipeg. It also is just a bit south of the Arctic circle.

I've been to Rankin Inlet before - twice. Once on the way to Iqaluit, and once on the way back. I was only there long enough to see the airport. Here's a few pictures I took that time at the airport. These were taken on my first trip to Nunavut in February of 2004.

Rankin Inlet Airport

Proud Grandma @ the airport

First Air - Such a blue sky

Rankin Inlet from above

Last year's trip was one of the highlights of my career and I'm betting that the trip to Rankin Inlet is right up there.

Rankin Inlet is the home of Jordon Tootoo, who is the first hockey player from Nunavut to play in the NHL. One of the things I learned on our trip last year is that the people from Nunavut are very passionate hockey fans. In fact, when the group of students made their way here to Edmonton last March, I met some of them at the airport and they introduced me to some friends from Rankin Inlet who were on their way to Calgary to see their hero Jordon play against the Calgary Flames.

One of my big hopes this year is to get a good view of the Northern Lights. With the recent sun spot activity, the Northern Lights are apparently in their glory. I grew up seeing the northern lights and have the great fortune of actually looking south to see them. You can see the Northern Lights from Edmonton, but you have to leave the City and find a place without light pollution. So I have my hopes.

Plastic Bags and Bans

2011-11-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

I came across this web page:

http://www.plasticbagfacts.com/default.aspx

This is a web page sponsored by the American Chemistry Council, who I presume represents plastic bag manufacturers. I'm not going to say to much about what they say except that they are obviously promoting the benefits of plastic bags. You can read what they say and draw your own conclusions.

However, I could not resist sending an email to them and venting about what they don't mention. Here's what I sent.

In all your discussions on the web page "what you should know about plastic bags', you never mention reusable bags. You only compare plastic bags to paper bags. I will say to you, based on personal experience, our plastic bag consumption has been reduced significantly by not using plastic shopping bags, but rather by using reusable bags. I think you are misrepresenting what is actually occurring in the consumer market.

In addition to this, many of the stores in our area now ask "do you need a bag'. This is not only at grocery stores, but in many retail stores. At one time, convenience stores would even put a newspaper in a bag, even if that's all you purchased. Seemed quite silly to me. Now, that doesn't seem to happen. In fact, I almost have to ask for a bag if I have a bigger purchase that I can't carry in my bare hands.

My take on what is influencing this trend is twofold. One, retailers are becoming more aware and more corporately 'green' because of consumer patterns. Two, retailers are finding that their operating costs are reduced if they don't hand out bags for every purchase.

I do find your web page to be somewhat biased, but expectedly so. However, I think you do need to pause and recognize what is truly happening in the retail market place. It isn't all about 'bans'. In fact, I'm not much of supporter of regulatory bans, but for different reasons than you promote. What your are encountering a change in consumer awareness and buying habits, and a change in retailer practices. Of course, I don't have the luxury of knowing the trend is sales by the bag producers to know what the impacts of these changing attitudes are having.

County mulls paying man over landfill litter claim

2011-11-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

Ag News - State Ag News

Wednesday, 17 August 2011 09:17

Litter on Farmland (not from location in new clipping)

The News staff

Gary Bontrager wants Reno County to pay for the problems posed when trash blown from the Reno County Landfill littered his crop field. The county's insurance provider denied the $1,500 crop damage claim, but county commissioners are wrestling with their own response.

Commissioners expressed concern Tuesday about the precedent they would set if they paid Bontrager. They requested he come to a commission meeting to explain how he established the $1,500 figure.

Commission Chairman James Schlickau, a farmer, said he would expect litter if he farmed next to a landfill. He said he understood from Bontrager's comments at a previous meeting that the debris did not damage the combine, but there was a "pain-in-the-butt factor" because Bontrager had to get off the combine to pull plastic bags and other debris off the machinery, Schlickau said.

Schlickau thought the county should deny the request, but Commissioners Brad Dillon and Dan Deming said they had mixed views on the issue.

MY VIEWS ON THIS NEWS CLIPPING

I posted this news clipping that I found to make a point about landfill litter affecting neighbouring farm land. I did a little 'foiping' and block out names. The names really aren't that important. It's the story that is relevant.

It seems to me that there is a litter issue with the farmer because he has to stop his equipment, get off, and clean off the litter that has blown onto his property. If he was being paid by the hour, stopping and cleaning out the litter would be viewed as 'downtime' and a cost could be calculated. Obviously, if you are operating equipment and have to stop and start to clean out litter that comes from your neighbour, there is a 'pain in the butt factor'. I would agree with the Commission Chair that there needs to be some clarity in establishing the figure of $1,500. In fact, considering the cost of a combine these days, the actual cost of lost time may be much higher.

I don't agree with the Commission Chair that one should expect litter if he farms next to a landfill. What that really tells me is that there is a weakness in the litter control program for that landfill. I have no information on what litter controls may be in place, and it is entirely possible that the landfill operators do have an effective program on the landfill, but there is still litter escaping to the neighbours property. The litter control program should also include retrieval of that litter from the neighbours property. Perhaps that may require agreement between the landfill owner and the farmer for access, but putting in that effort to address the wayward litter would go a long way to building a positive relationship, than just saying 'litter should be expected". After all, the farmer didn't put the litter there, so why should he bear the cost.

I'm just saying.

LItter Pictures

2011-11-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything lately about landfill litter. Perhaps its time I did that. I thought I'd first post some copies of photographs of plastic bags and fences that I found searching around the web site. I picked these photos for their artistic touch as much as making a point about issues with blowing plastic bags at landfills.

Enjoy

Space Litter

2011-11-12T01:03:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a bit a searching on the web for information on how broadly humans have spread litter around the globe. On land it is quite perverse. For example, litter and illegal dump sites are abound around Beijing China. Many third word countries do not have the financial resources to solve waste disposal issues and it results in severely poorly managed waste systems. Some of the litter in our oceans result from those poorly managed waste systems.

In previous posts, I've discussed litter floating on the ocean surface. Some of that litter sinks and is scattered across the ocean floor. More to come on that at a later time.

What I am now finding, is information on litter that is above our heads.

Since the Russians launched the first sputnik satellite, space litter has been continually growing around the earth. Space litter comes from spent rockets, satellites, and debris left by astronauts. Much of this debris is tiny specs of various compounds, metal, and paint. Some of it is larger pieces including a camera that was lost by an astronaut on a space walk. Then there are the disable satellites that sometimes re-enter the earth's atmoshpere.

Space Litter above the earth

Space scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about this space junk striking satellites or space vehicles, including the international space station. This debris is tracked so that it can be avoided, but with the increase in space litter, it is becoming more likely.

Since this debris is traveling at speeds up to 17,000 mph, even the smallest particle can create significant damage to space vehicles.

A few sources of information that I have found, you can look up on your own. The links are below.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=on-the-trail-of-space-trash

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/space-debris-is-getting-out-of-hand/2011/09/01/gIQArLHouJ_blog.html

http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/index.html

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Space_Debris/SEMQQ8VPXPF_0.html

Satellite panel damage from space debris
NASA Orbital Debris Program

Bottom line is: We humans have been very efficient in finding ways to leave litter at our feet, floating on the oceans, on the bottom of the oceans, and up in space. What's left untouched by humans?

Litter Catch Fences

2011-10-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Are you using fences to manage litter at your landfill?

"If you don't use a variety of fences at your landfill, yet your complaining about litter, you're not dealing with the problem, your chasing symptoms" (Who Says You Have a Litter Problem, Neil Bolton, MSW Management, July/August 2000)

Relying on one line of defence for managing your litter will help, but it won't solve the blowing litter issues. You need to look at a variety of fencing options. This includes, using perimeter fences, wind-break fences, and portable catch fences. You may need to erect temporary or semi-permanent lines of fences across your site between your action operations and the perimeter fences to catch litter. In some circumstances, you may need to use tall baseball netting.

Fencing systems must be designed to keep litter inside the landfill. You want to focus on keeping blowing litter to a minimum by using operating practices that include operation of small working faces, apply cover, and good compaction. In some wind conditions, you may even need to limit your landfill operations.

Perimeter Fence

Perimeter fences serve more than one purpose. They provide site security, can limit animal access, and they are the last line of litter catchment before litter can escape the site.

Perimeter fencing is most commonly constructed as a chain-link fence mounted on steel post. Some designs include extension of the fence fabric below the ground surface and addition of electric fencing wire to discourage bear intrusion. To prevent human intrusion, the fences should be a heavy gauge mesh and mounted on sturdy fence posts. Some facilities will include barb-wire strands on top (as in the photo above). Signs should be posted that clearly state 'no entry', and if the fence is electrified.

To be effective as a litter catchment fence, the mesh wire should not be greater than 2 inches. A unique design that I've seen installed in a couple of location in Southern Alberta is a sloping perimeter fence. The fence is slope into the prevailing wind direction on the downwind side of the active landfill. The concept behind this design is to drive the blowing litter to the bottom of the fence for easier retrieval and to minimize plugging of the fence that can happen with vertical fences.

With either a vertical fence or sloping fence design, it is essential that the fences be cleaned of any litter that is trapped by the fence for both aesthetic reasons and to maintain the fence. If litter is allowed to collect on the fence fabric, it may eventually plug the free flow of air through the fence and litter will then blow over the fence, or it may result in the fence being blown over.

Intermediate Fencing

What I mean by intermediate fencing is fencing that is placed at strategic locations between the active areas of the landfill and the site perimeter fences. Intermediate fencing may be temporary, semi-permanent, or even permanent when it makes sense to do so.

The purpose of intermediate fencing may be to establish fence boundaries for different operations on the landfill and to provide added security if needed. For purpose of this writing, it is fencing that is placed at location through the site to catch blowing litter. The more of this fencing that is used, there will be less litter collecting along perimeter fences, and by logic, the less litter that will escape the landfill property.

Intermediate fencing can consist of single rows of fencing or multiple rows. Of course this will be determined by blowing litter direction, wind conditions experienced at the site, site topography, and budget allowances.

When permanent fences are used, the fence could consist simply of a wire mesh fence (with no greater than a 2 inch mesh) mounted on angle iron posts, or it could be constructed similar to the chain-link perimeter fencing.

Using semi-permanent fences allows for the fencing to be easily moved as the landfill expands. The angle iron post design could be established as a temporary fence and used where it will be in that location for longer periods of time. Some fence designs marketed by fencing companies are intended to be even more temporary. Some vendor designs are simple fabric mounted on light weight posts and are anchored with wires. Others are designed to angle into the wind. The intent of the design is so that these fences can be easily and quickly moved.

The baseball netting fences, may also be considered as an intermediate fence. These fencing systems are usually a permanent installation, so their choice of location needs to be well planned out. they need to be placed where the litter blows and where they won't interfere with landfill operations and development. Some netting designs can be installed in a temporary location and be moved as the landfill operations move. See photo examples below.

Portable Catch Fences

Portable catch fences are used in close proximity of the active working face. The are designed to be quickly moved so they can move with the continually moving working face and when the wind direction changes.

Most designs consist of a heavy frame structure that is mounted on a skid frame. The fence mesh is typically a heavier gauge 2 inch wire mesh. The skid frame acts as the base to hold the fence erect. My view is that the base (or skid frame) needs to be 2/3 the height of the vertical fence frame. Ideally, at least 2/3 of the base should extend to the downwind site of the fence to reduce the potential for the fence blowing over. These fence designs are moved by pulling the fence sections with the landfill equipment.

Portable fencing sections can also be designed to slope into the wind. This helps contain the litter at the bottom of the fence and reduce plugging of the fence.

Some other innovative designs use a steel bar section on the vertical section of the fence that is built so the top of a loader bucket can hook under the bar to lift the fence and carry to the desired location

There are numerous manufacturers that market portable fence systems and can be easily found on an Internet search. Landfill operators often develop their own innovated designs and work with local welding shops.

What I think is important in portable fence design is:

use heavy frames to reduce damages that occur with light frames
use a wire mesh that is no greater than 2 inches
design the fence with a substantial base to prevent it from blowing over
design the fence so the ends butt up against each other, or even so they can over lap

Placing portable catch fences

The placement and use of portable litter catchment fences is just as important as their design. Poorly placed, they can be completely ineffective. The fences must be placed closed to the source of the litter and downwind. Some operators will place these fences in a circular pattern around their active working face.

Neil Bolton suggest using multiple rows of fences. With a single row, the fence can be plugged and the litter will then blow over the fence. Some litter may be trapped behind the fence if a sheltered zone is created by the plugged fence, but by placing a second row of fence, secondary trapment exists. A third row provides an even higher degree of litter trapment. A good example of this technique being applied is in the photo of the Lethbridge Regional Landfill at the top of this blog entry.

Ultimate Fencing Systems

If one searches around the Internet, you'll come across some fencing systems that entirely enclose the active working face under a mesh tent-like structure. One example is shown below.

How Strong is the Wind

2011-10-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Wind	Km/Hr	Wind Blown Litter
Calm	Up to 10	light film and paper
Light	10 - 20	crumpled dry paper, empty plastic bags
Moderate	20 - 40	light weight empty boxes, flat cardboard, paper products
Strong	40 - 60	corrugated cardboard boxes, sheets of Styrofoam, plastic containers
Gale	60 - 90	large boxes, sheets of ridge plastic, carpet, brush
Storm	90 - 117	construction materials (e.g. plywood sheets)
Hurricane	over 118	almost anything that is not secured
Tornado (F1 - F5)	105 - 322	dangerous winds

This table was derived from a litter study project for the Lethbridge Regional Landfill (Salbro Consulting). Much of the information was adopted from a litter study that was done for the Pincher Creek Regional Landfill in the late 1970's. The concept is that if was was dropped in these wind conditions, what litter would be carried by the wind away from the working face. In the original Pincher Creek study, various materials were dropped from a 1.5 meter height in various wind speeds to observe what is carried in these winds.

This reasoning was based on the idea that when waste is unloaded from customer vehicles at the working face, it is the point where the waste is most exposed to the wind.

You may find in actual wind conditions that materials not identified in this table are carried by the wind and that some materials may not necessarily be carried by the wind, but may drift along the ground surface.  This table can be used as a general guide for different wind conditions, but shouldn't be thought of as a definitive description of what litter will blow in different winds.

One thing that is clear though, "the stronger the wind, the bigger the objects that will be blown by the wind".

Also, keep in mind that two other factors that will have an influence on wind blown litter are turbulence and wind direction.

Jim

Marine Litter

2011-10-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

This morning I watched a show on CNBC called Trash Inc. The Secret Life of Garbage. It reminded me of the great garbage gyre in the pacific ocean. The show included a piece on plastic washing up on the beaches in Hawaii. Much of it was small bits of plastic. It included toothbrushes and bits of plastic with writing and logos in different languages.

The show also suggested that there were 5 other gyres in the worlds oceans where plastic is collecting. Does say a lot about the world population's environmental respect for the oceans, does it

After watching that show, I looked Marine Litter on the United Nations web page.

http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/about/default.asp

You can read about the UN's mandate regarding marine litter, and about its distribution, sources, effects, and problems.

Some of the bits of information they state:

in the Pacific Gyre it was found that there are 6 kilo's of plastic for every kilo of plankton near the surface
it is estimated that 70% of plastic entering the oceans ends up on the sea bed
about 50% of the remaining floating plastic ends up on beaches around the world, and the remainder is floating on the surface of the water

This is a link through the UN to an article called Plastic Debris in the World's Ocean by Greenpeace.
http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/publications/docs/plastic_ocean_report.pdf

I also came across a blog called "The Plastic Ocean Project" by Bonnie Monteleone. I created a link on my blog page.

Web Information on Litter Control at Landfills

2011-10-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Have a look at this cartoon. Makes you think.

I've been searching on the web for papers, articles, presentations, and any other sources for information on litter control at landfills. I do come across litter control descriptions on web pages for specific landfills, but they typically only offer a generic description of their litter controls. I'm betting that if you talked directly to the site operators, you'll get more descriptive information on what they have done, what works, what doesn't work, and what they actually do.

Periodically, I come across a presentation by a consulting company describing litter controls for a landfill design project. I have yet to find a consultant who describes a litter control method that is much more that stating they will install litter control fences and include a litter retrieval program.   I don't want to suggest that all consultants gloss over litter controls, but I rarely come across an landfill design that effectively addresses litter control systems.
For example, I just read an engineering summary for expansion of a landfill that I am somewhat familiar with. The existing site is exposed to windy conditions and I've seen severe wind-blown litter issues at the site. The plan shown by the consultants basically acknowledges that litter is an issue, but the mitigative measures described are basically a description of what currently exists. In this case, I would think that there needs to be more attention paid to the litter control program. Perhaps this will be better addressed in the operations plan.   Let's hope so.

I came across four articles that I think are worth a read.  I've given you the title and the web link so you can read for yourself.

Wind, Wings, and Waste (Robert Johnson, Waste Age, June 1, 2009)

http://waste360.com/Landfill_Management/managing-birds-blown-landfill-litter-200906

Dust in the Wind (Michael Fickes, Waste Age, June 1, 2010)

http://waste360.com/Landfill_Management/nuisances-201006

When it comes to controlling litter, good fences make good neighbors (Neal Bolton, MSW Management, September-October, 2004)

http://www.mswmanagement.com/september-october-2004/controlling-litter-good.aspx

Who Says You Have a Litter Problem (Neal Bolton, MSW Management, July-August, 2000)

http://www.mswmanagement.com/july-august-2000/a-litter-problem.aspx

Landfill Litter Blog Readers

2011-07-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Since starting this blog last February, I have seen a steady increase in readers. Blogspot lets the author look up stats for the number of hits per day, per month and all time. The number of hits last month was 104, and this month, the number of hits on this landfill litter blog will certainly exceed that if the trend continues. Halfway through the month of July, the number of hits is just slightly below the total for the month of June.

More interesting to me is who's going onto this blog. Blogspot also gives you location by country. here's the list so far (in alphabetical order)

Australia
Brunei
Canada
Germany
India
Kenya
Malaysia
New Zealand
Romania
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read my blog on landfill litter. I hope that I'm able to achieve my objective of passing along what I have learned in my 30 years that I've worked in this field.

Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch

2011-07-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

In the north Pacific Ocean, the ocean currents circulate in what is known as the Pacific Gyre. In the past few years there have been reports of discarded plastics and debris circulating in this gyre is such mass that it has created "another continent". At least that's one description I came across. A more common description that is out there, and one that was also reported by Oprah (and by the way, I am not a fan of Oprah), that this garbage mass is the size of Texas and is 90 feet deep. Certainly if you google the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch, you'll easily find numerous web pages with these kinds of descriptions. Most are on environmental web pages, some of which are designed to shock you.

Then you'll also find other descriptions by scientific researchers who don't deny the gathering of plastic, but they counter the claims of the 8th continent being formed by garbage. They certainly have reported the evidence of garbage and bits of plastic floating in the ocean currents and in what appears to be alarming amounts. But it hasn't formed an island the size of Texas.

You'll find photos on a few web pages that seem to support the claim of this floating Island. My question is, where are these photos taken. You'll see photos of animals caught up in plastic netting and a turtle that had a plastic ring around when it was young and the story of how it grew into a deformed adult. Oprah shows that one. So did these animals really get caught up in this whirlpool of floating garbage, or did they get it from along the shore lines of the Pacific. I think that there are exaggerated claims to shock and make a point. Some of this might be true, some of it isn't.

You can go onto google and You Tube and read up on this story yourself and look at the videos. Once you get on line, you'll find more and more and more stories and you tube videos. Try to look at all sides of this story and draw your own conclusions. (Links below)

But, here's what I believe. Based on what I've read and seen in a few videos, I believe there is an issue with floating debris and plastic in the Pacific Ocean. It likely does get caught up in this gyre. If there is that much floating plastic in the Pacific, surely there is a similar problem in our other oceans. I DON"T believe in the garbage island the size of Texas or the formation of the 8th continent. The videos I looked at made by folks who were there certainly DON'T show any island or continent. And by the way, those folks who describe it as a continent should read up on plate tectonics and find out what a continent actually is before using that description. The videos DO show floating debris and plastics, and that should be a great concern to us. It truly is an example of the impact we humans are having on this planet. http://youtu.be/ISaGrlpK2zEhttp://youtu.be/ISaGrlpK2zEhttp://youtu.be/y5y1W5xduiEhttp://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2009-08-28-pacific-garbage-patch_N.htmhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8241265/Great-Garbage-Patch-in-the-Pacific-Ocean-not-so-great-claim-scientists.html

Here is a photo that I came across on a few web pages. This shows a chap in a canoe paddling through floating garbage. So where is the picture actually taken? I could not find the original source or photographer name. Is it taken out in the middle of the Pacific on this "garbage island". Often the text that goes with this photo suggests that. But, would someone really be out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a canoe? Or was this picture taken somewhere close to shore? Perhaps at some location where garbage is dumped over the shore into the ocean? Hey, that still happens in some parts of the world. I won't deny the photograph is real. It also is quite a graphic display of a horrendous and shameful waste disposal practice. I would just like to know the true location where this photo was taken.

I will say with certainty what I know. I don't know what the real truth is on this topic. The only way I will be able to know with certainty of this floating garbage story, is that I will have to get in a boat and go look for myself.

http://youtu.be/ISaGrlpK2zE http://youtu.be/ISaGrlpK2zEhttp://youtu.be/y5y1W5xduiE

Old Photos

2011-07-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old computer photo files today. I came across some photographs I took on a cold winter day a few years ago at the Newell Regional Landfill. I thought I'd share these photos with you.

First thing you'll notice, it is cold and the landfill is snow covered. A good snowfall can make a landfill look pretty and clean. Snow is a real good at covering up litter. That is, until spring when it melts. That's why a spring clean up of landfills in our part of world is always scheduled in the operating plan.

The second thing you should notice in these pictures is the litter fences around the active working face. This isn't the most effective configuration of these fences. I have been at this site when the operators have completely encircled the working face with the portable fences.

They lay the fences out in a kind of spiral so that there is an opening for access for the inbound customers. This gives complete coverage for litter control in all directions. At this location, winds direction can change quickly, so this kind of fence layout has shown to be effective.

The third thing you should notice is the small working face. This landfill isn't a particularly large operation, but never-the-less, they do put the effort in to keep the working face small to limit exposure of waste to the wind.

The portable fences used at this site include a combination of litter catchment fences and wind screen fences. The fences are designed with a sloping face for better trapment of the litter. The wind screens shelter the working face to reduce the wind speed.

Landfill Impact Assessment

2011-07-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

I was just reading Landfill Impact Assessment report. The report went to great lengths evaluating dust, noise, landfill gas, and odours. It included a brief discussion on litter impact. The study effort included a great deal of work using dispersion models that used climate and wind data, topography and so on to determine what impact, if any, there would be on nearby receptors. The authors took great efforts to determine waste quantities for the next 35 years, modelled landfill gas emissions, conducted traffic flow assessments, and measured odour emissions from the existing landfill

The Blowing Litter Impact Assessment reported the following information:

Distance from landfill perimeter	Finding	Impact category
0 - 500m	50% of escaping litter remains in this area	Medium
500 – 1000 m	Remaining 50% retained in this area	Low
Beyond 1000 m	Very little escapes beyond this distance	None

This information was said to have been taken from a 'previous report' by RWDI (2002). I did an internet search in an attempt to find the original source of this information, but was unsuccessful (so far). I could not determine if this referenced report was related to the existing landfill at this location.

A second table that was referenced to RWDI (2002) is said to be a study conducted in wind tunnels on "threshold speeds for various categories of wind-blown litter". Again, I tried to find the original source of this information, so I don't know how this study was done. Did it replicate waste in a pile, or did it replicate waste dropping from an unloading vehicle? I would assume that we would see different results between the two scenarios.

Wind speed range	Litter description	Impact category
0 – 22 km/h	No blowing litter	None
22 – 33 km/h	Newsprint, tissue, paper towel, some light bond paper	Light
33 – 47 km/h	All the above plus plastic bags, small boxes, small cardboard tubes, paper bags, plastic sheets.	Moderate
Above 47 km/h	All the above plus extensive heavy bond paper	heavy

The authors of the report suggested that the average annual wind speed 10 metres above the ground is 8.6 km/hr, and that it would be about 2.3 km/hr at the 2 metre level. The authors then concluded that for the majority of wind velocities at the landfill, blowing litter would not occur. This conclusion was based on the following table.

Table L2.34 - Frequency of Occurrence of Blowing Litter with Wind Speed
Speed range km/h	Annual frequency (%)
0 – 22	94.0
22 – 33	5.8
33 – 47	0.2
47+	<0.1

One can see if you connect all the dots using this information, you would come to a similar conclusion. The authors further concluded that because most of the landfill operations will be below ground, this would further reduce wind-blown litter. Recommendations suggested the litter mitigation should include, covering waste haul vehicles, daily cover of the working face, portable wind fences, improving vegetated lands buffering the landfill, educate the public about plastic bags, regular inspections and litter clean up.

This evaluation is probably fairly typical of impact assessment studies. Litter issues usually don't get the same level of effort as other 'emissions' from landfills, even though litter is probably the most visible immission. This may be because it is assumed that litter controls are very basic, such as cover, fencing, and cleaning up, that there's little need to do a complete evaluation. Granted, because litter is visible and accessible, it is easier to respond to that a groundwater or gaseous emission impact. I do think that landfill planners and engineers do need to give more attention to litter control and prevention. They usually leave that up to the landfill manager and operators.

I will admit, there may be more information available on specific litter controls in detailed operation plans. At this time, I don't have that information.

You can see the original report by going to the following link.

https://muskoka.civicweb.net/Documents/DocumentDisplay.aspx?ID=5002

Wind Patterns at Landfills

2011-07-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

At a landfill, you have to deal with winds of different speeds and strength, steady winds, gusting winds, and winds that come from different directions. The topography of your site affects the wind patterns at your site. Know and understanding these winds and wind patterns is key to understanding how to properly apply your litter controls.

Wind Over The Ground

Wind that blows over the ground creates a micro-pattern along the ground surface. As the wind passes over the ground, the wind speed is slowed due to friction with the ground surface. The type of vegetation and surface roughness will influence the degree of this effect. For the most part, you would not notice this effect.

What is important to understand, is that smaller particles and easily airborne particles will stay suspended in the air. Heavier particles will tend to flow across the ground until they are trapped by and object.

This can be seen by observing the materials that makes up the litter at different distances from the landfill operation.

Wind Over Hills

Hills cause a variety of effects on wind as it passes over. As the wind blows into the hill, it will tend to decrease in speed at the toe of the hill. This is because a high pressure zone occurs on the windward side of the hill. As the air mass moves up the hill slope, it will accelerate and will reach a maximum speed at the apex of the hill. A low pressure zone will occur on the downwind side of the hill and a reduced wind speed may be observed.

Turbulent winds may also show on the upwind and downwind sides of the hill depending on wind speed and the shape of the hill.

In a landfill setting, these wind patters can be observed around stockpiles and fill areas. Dust can be observed drifting off the crest of a soil stockpile and litter can often be observed circulating in the turbulent winds on the downwind side of stockpiles and fill slopes.

Wind Funneling

In a geographic valley setting, such as a mountain pass, wind that blows through the valley can accelerate. The valley acts like a venturi tube. As wind enters the valley it is compressed and increases in speed. When the wind exits the valley, the air pressure decreases, but the exiting wind is at a much higher speed than when it entered the valley. (look up Santa Anna Wind)

This same funneling effect can occur in a landfill setting where the wind is blowing parallel to an narrow open trench, or where it blows between two fill areas. The effect of this funneling may not be easily observed as it's effect may be minimal in most cases.

Topographic Exposure

The diagram at left shows an example topographic setting with perpendicular winds and parallel winds. A active fill area with the greatest exposure to strong winds are shown red, while low exposure is shown in green. A landfill operator should know where the highest topographical exposure area is at the landfill. It will not be the same for all landfills and all wind situations.

Observe the Wind

To develop an effective landfill litter management plan, the landfill manager should observe wind patterns on and around the landfill. Observe winds around all topographical features, both mounds and open excavations. Observe wind patters at different wind directions and speeds. Measure the winds. You can purchase hand held wind meters that you can use as you walk through the site. Record the different wind speeds.

Observe turbulent air patterns. You can often see plastic film circulating in turbulent air. You may also notice the wind speed recorded on your hand held wind meter is very erratic in highly turbulent air.

Observe how the wind effects your active working face and tip area. How is the litter wind blown, and where it goes to. Take photographs and record what you observe.

Litter around Bessborough landfill a problem, says resident

2011-06-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

Litter around Bessborough landfill a problem, says resident

I found this story on the web. You can read it and draw your own conclusions.

Litter Controll at Lethbridge Waste & Recycling Centre

2011-06-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

This landfill is located in southern Alberta and is in an area that is subjected to frequent windy conditions. The City has the distinction of being the 2nd most windiest City in Canada. Because of historical issues with litter problems at the landfill, the City and the site operators have implemented a comprehensive litter management program. This is a brief summary of that program.

Prevent Litter From Customer Vehicles

A secure load policy has been implemented and a surcharge is applied for all loads that are not enclosed, covered with a tarp, or firmly secured. The surcharge rate is $20/load for loads under 1 tonne, or $40/load for loads over 1 tonne.

Haulers may also be subject to fines for transporting unsecured loads and causing litter along public highways.

Monitoring & Litter Collection

Regular monitoring is conducted and the site operators retrieve litter along roads, ditches, and nearby irrigation canals. Depending on the road, this retrieval occurs daily to weekly.

Fence lines around the landfill are monitored and litter is retrieved to keep the site clean.

Litter is collected from private property adjacent to the landfill site and along road ways with access permission from the land owner.

Illegal Dumping

To prevent illegal dumping, the City offers a large item service to residents, and provides a free Saturday disposal program. The City conducts regular monitoring for illegal dumping and works with enforcement agencies.

Litter Controls

A combination of techniques are used at the landfill to prevent litter from occurring and to prevent litter from escaping.

Portable wind screen fences to shelter the working face and catch fences are used downwind to catch any blowing litter. The working face is kept as small as possible to minimize exposure of waste to wind.

An 8 meter tall 'primary' entrapment fence is placed at the edge of the landfill operations, and a 12 meter tall 'secondary' entrapment fence is placed downwind (east side) of the landfill.

The landfill operations are closed when winds exceed limits set out under the Environmental Approval. Walking floor transfer trailers are prohibited from unloading when wind gust exceed 60 km/hr, and all loads are prohibited when wind gusts exceed 70 km/hr.

Transfer Station & Baler

To address the issues with collection systems because the landfill is shut down high wind conditions, the City has constructed a transfer station with a baler. The waste bales are 'wrapped' and when placed at the landfill, they are not a source of blowing litter.

Other Technologies

The City and the site operators continue to investigate other technologies to add to the existing litter controls. For example, a trial for application of a spray on mulch alternative daily cover was used.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbours

2011-06-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

"When it comes to controlling litter, good fences make good neighbours" Neil Bolton is a consultant that specializes in landfill operations. He also writes for MSW Management. This is a link to an article he wrote and that was published in the October 2004 issue.

http://www.mswmanagement.com/september-october-2004/controlling-litter-good.aspx

Wind Patrol - Litter Fence

In this article, Mr. Bolton talks about portable fences and the importance of placing them to be effective. He also talks about using wind break fencing materials to reduce wind speed and turbulence. The article discusses litter retrieval and how to deploy staff assigned to picking litter.

Wind Patrol - Wind Break

In future posts, we'll show wind patterns that affect landfill operations, and we'll show the use of litter catch fences and wind breaks. Mr. Bolton's article is a good lead into these topics.

Landfill Litter Management

2011-06-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Here I'll summarize some basic techniques for managing, or controlling, litter at landfills.

1.   Develop a Litter Management Plan

Prepare a written plan that describes the litter management programs for your landfill. This plan should outline bylaws or ordinances and how enforcement is done. The plan should include policies and procedures for managing improperly contained waste loads. It should include procedures for directing customers on-site and describe operating procedures for site litter controls.   With this plan, you should identify how you will monitor the effectiveness of the litter controls and you should include a practical response plan for litter clean-up.

2.   Present a professional image.

If you maintain a pleasing appearance at your landfill, you gain a greater degree of cooperation of your customers. They will appreciate the effort to keep a site clean and are far more likely to take more care in how they transport their own loads are are far more likely to pay attention to site rules and site staff directions. This can help your operation in more ways that just litter control, but it is an important piece of a litter management program.

3. Cover

Cover includes cover of waste transporting vehicles and cover of waste disposed in the landfill. Waste loads should be secured, tarped, or enclosed to prevent litter along roads leading to the landfill and along the landfill site roads. This generally requires cooperation of legal enforcement agencies to be effective.

Waste that is deposited at the landfill should be covered within practical reason to minimize exposure of the waste to wind.

4. Shelter to Prevent Wind-Blown Litter

An active working face that is sheltered from wind will minimize the amount of wind blown litter. Shelter can be provided using natural wind breaks such as tree cover and sometimes topographical features. Using portable wind-breaks placed on the upwind side of an active working face has also proven to be effective in reducing the speed of wind, thus reducing the amount of blowing litter.

5. Catch Litter

Most landfills use a variety of litter 'catch' fences to trap litter so that it doesn't escape the landfill. This can include portable fences placed around the active working face, temporary intermediate fencing placed through the landfill property, and perimeter fences at the site property lines.

6. Retrieve Litter

With effective litter control fences and operation procedures, there will be times when litter still escapes the active landfill area, or the landfill property. The litter program MUST include a retrieval or clean up program in a timely way so that any fugitive litter does not collect for any unacceptable length of time.

Exposed to Wind

2011-06-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

How much waste that is exposed to the wind can be directly related to the amount of wind blown litter you will have. A large working face that is un-sheltered will certainly result in a high amount of wind blown litter. Keeping an active working face as small as possible, or practical, is an important part of litter control. In high wind conditions, it may be necessary to reduce the size of the exposed face, even if it means that inbound vehicles need to line up in a cue and await their turn.

Sheltering the working face by taking advantage of surrounding topography may be effective in some circumstances and not so much in others. More on this later when we discuss wind patterns and turbulence. Using artificial wind breaks can provide some reduction in wind speed, and this will be discussed in a later post. In this photo, this landfill is using a combination of fencing systems to provide shelter and to catch litter. But most importantly, the working face is kept as small as possible to reduce the amount of waste exposed to the wind.

Compacted Waste

Litter will be more easily wind blown when it is not compacted than if it is compacted. Waste collection vehicles with compacted loads will have less litter wind blown as they unload than will the un-compacted loads. Waste that is compacted on the working face is less likely to become wind blown than waste left in piles and exposed to the wind. It should be remembered though that by pushing waste in windy conditions may actually add to the wind blown litter problem.

It is important that the equipment operator understands that when spreading waste piles, the waste should be pushed along the fill surface and not carried and dropped.

Soil Cover

Covering the working face with soil will eliminate exposed waste and it cannot be pick up in the wind. The equipment operator should advance the soil cover over the top bench of the daily cell to minimize exposure during the day. Soil cover or an alternative cover is normally placed over the face at the end of a day's operation. In some high wind conditions, the operator may need to apply a 'sprinkling' of soil cover over the working face during the day's operation to help control blowing litter.

Blowing in the Wind

2011-06-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

It is quite intuitive to think that things that are lighter will be more prone to be wind blown than heavier objects. Items less likely to be blown about if they are heavy, such as a large metal object, or that have a high moisture content like food waste, or that have been compacted as in a compactor truck.

We also have to think about surface area as well. For example, a flat sheet of paper has a great surface area that easily becomes wind blown, yet if it is crumpled into a ball, it has a lower surface area and is less easily wind blown. We are all aware of the problem with plastic bags being blown about. Plastic bags are not only light and have a large surface area, but wind will blow into an open bag and carry them aloft.

Studies carried out in the late 70's for the Crowsnest Pincher Creek Regional Landfill showed how far a variety of objects could be blown at different wind speeds. The study was based on an object dropping about 1.5 M (as it would from an unloading collection vehicle), and that it would be blown away from the working face of the landfill.

Wind Speed Objects

10 - 25 km/hr Envelopes, dry paper

25 - 30 km/hr Empty plastic bags

30 - 50 km/hr Corrugated cardboard sheets, crumpled paper towels

50 - 60 km/hr Plastic strips, empty tissue boxes, tightly crumpled paper

60 - 90 km/hr Milk cartons, cardboard boxes

over 90 km/hr Metal cans

The energy in the wind is cubically proportional to the wind speedThe strength of the wind should never be under estimated. (E = v3). If wind speed is doubled, the energy increases by 8 times (2 x 2 x 2 = 8). Never under estimate the power in the wind. In strong winds, large objects, as shown here, can be blown out of the active landfill working face.

Lasting Trash

2011-06-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

Different littered materials will remain in the natural environment for a varying length of time depending on how quickly they degrade, either biologically, chemically, or because of sunlight.   This kind of information can be easily found by doing a web search. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality published this information on it's web page.

Material                                           Time to Degrade
Piece of Paper                                    2 to 4 weeks
Orange and Banana peels                    2 to 5 weeks
Cotton Rags                                       1 to 5 months
Disposable diapers                             10 to 20 years
Plastic bags                                        10 to 20 years
Aluminum cans                                   80 to 100 years
Glass                                                  indefinitely

What is Litter

2011-06-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

Litter was defined in the Handbook of Solid Waste Management (D.G Wilson, 1977) as:

"Litter Comprises of those solid wastes found free on the ground due to either intentional or unintentional careless disposal practices"

Webster's Dictionary defines in more simply as:

"trash, wastepaper, or garbage lying scattered about"

Regardless of which definition you prefer, litter is an undesirable consequence of human existence. Litter at landfills is either because of waste spilled off of hauling vehicles, indiscriminate dumping of waste loads, carelessness, or it is wind blown from the landfill operations.

Litter is comprised of both large and small items. Large items include, but is not limited to: cans, boxes, glass bottles and jars, paper, cardboard, plastic bags and containers, construction debris, appliances, furniture, tires, vehicle, and equipment parts. Small items might include these and other materials: metal pieces and nails, bottle caps, cigarette butts, glass pieces, paper pieces, and plastic pieces.

Example Landfill with Litter Issues

2011-06-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

This landfill is located on the Canadian Prairies in an area that is un-sheltered and is exposed to windy conditions that are typical of the southern portion of the Canadian Prairie Provinces.

At this point in time, the operators maintained a large open working face that was about 25 to 30 feet high. Waste was unloaded from self-haul customers at the bottom (toe) of the working face, and commercial customers unloaded at the top.

Vehicles unloading at the bottom of the face were somewhat sheltered and litter catchment fences were around the tipping area, but were not well positioned for best protection.

The commercial vehicles unloading at the top were exposed to high winds and there was no litter control fencing provided for shelter or litter catchment.

To add to the litter issues, effective bylaw and bylaw enforcement was lacking. Loads on inbound vehicles were often unsecured. This led to litter along roads leading to the site and contributed litter issues at the landfill.

The operators were provided with well designed portable litter catchment fences. The fences were not effectively used around the working face. Fences were placed around the lower tipping area, but they were not well positioned to closed the gaps between fence sections. These fences were not effective in catching blowing litter off the working face, simply because of the height of the working face. The tipping area at the top of the face, which was the most exposed to the wind, had no litter fencing available.

THE RESULTS

Recommendations

The recommendations for litter management at this site included:

- minimize and control the size of the working face

- increase the amount of portable litter catch fences

- place portable fences where they will be effective and close gaps

- add portable wind-break fences to shelter exposed tipping areas

- establish effective controls for un-secured loads

- implement a litter retrieval program