[GreenYes] Re: unbelievable... a Monday morning zinger

[Matthew Cotton <mattcotton@no.address>]

Mark - 

About 23 states in the US have some form of landfill ban on yard trimmings (leaves, grass, brush, etc). Ohio is not one of them, though disposal of yard trimmings is "restricted" [you might want to contact Angel Arroyo-Rodriguez (angel.arroyo@no.address) at Ohio EPA for more details on what exactly "restricted" means.].

There are a number of sources of methane in a landfill, yard trimmings being one. Ohio now has over 500 permitted composting sites (mostly composting leaves), so discarded food scraps is probably also a factor. Though most of the US yard trimmings landfill bans only go back to the mid 1980's, so depending on the age of the particular landfill, there may be a lot more yard trimmings from the pre-restricted era. Food scraps are not restricted from any landfill that I am aware of and generally make up a significant portion of the organic matter in a landfill (particularly in states with effective yard trimmings diversion activities). Note the recent New York City Waste Characterization study (posted to GreenYes Dec. 2, 2006) showing "organics" comprising 47% of the residential waste stream. New York does not ban yard trimmings from landfills, and no, it's probably not too good an idea to compare any part of Ohio with New York City, I'm just making a point that organics (food and yard trimmings) still make up a significant percentage of landfilled material that could be recovered for composting, thus reducing its contribution to landfill methane.

Here's a link to the Ohio EPA's site regarding landfill rules which restrict yard trimmings. A little tough to follow.   

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsiwm/pages/3745-27.html 

The restrictions on yard trimmings start at OAC Rule 3745-27-19(O). There are also some fact sheets on the OEPA website which try to simplify the rule.

Matthew Cotton
Integrated Waste Management Consulting, LLC
19375 Lake City Road
Nevada City, CA  95959
(530) 265-4560
Fax (530) 265-4547
mattcotton@no.address

On Dec 12, 2006, at 9:38 AM, Mark J. McConnell wrote:

> Hi tree huggers,
> Three things. 1 Who let them build on a landfill duh! You know it's going to sink. 2 Methane is odorless so the smell is something else. 3 Does anyone know the law about dumping green waste, leaf and limb in landfills and could you send me a link. Thanks
>  
> Peace, Love and Compost,
> Mark
> > <x-tad-bigger>----- Original Message -----</x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>From:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>Camille Armantrout</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>To:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>GreenYes@no.address</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> </x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>Sent:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:22 AM</x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>Subject:</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger> [GreenYes] Re: unbelievable... a Monday morning zinger</x-tad-bigger>
> >
> > Sure seems like someone has the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in their hip pocket!  How could anyone, especially the EPA, NOT suspect the landfill might be producing methane?!
> >
> > Camile
> >
> > <x-tad-bigger>This could be a headline out of the Onion…</x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>“Methane Inside Wal-Mart Built Upon Landfill -  Source of Methane Unknown”</x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>This little blurb below is from the </x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>Chartwell's Waste Industry News Weekly Update - Dec. 8, 2006 …</x-tad-bigger><x-tad-bigger>  Would you pay for this newsletter?</x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>Eric</x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>CLEVELAND-AREA WAL-MART SHUTTERED ON LANDFILL GAS</x-tad-bigger>
> > <x-tad-bigger>A Wal-Mart store built atop a landfill in Garfield Heights, Ohio has shut down because of a methane gas leak. Employees at the store had reported a bad smell and evacuated customers on Tuesday, Dec. 5. Wal-Mart officials are not certain when the store will reopen, although fire officials say the methane fumes are not concentrated enough to be dangerous. Wal-Mart and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency have said the source of the methane has not yet been identified.</x-tad-bigger>
> >
> > Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

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