Don’t miss this rare look at the working face of the Contained Landfill.
Solid Waste Manager Travis Ricker is driving a 120,000 lb. trash compactor. It’s a large tractor with spiked steel wheels that crushes and compacts garbage.
“At the Landfill, the most important thing we own is air space,” Ricker says. “We try to compact the garbage into the tightest space possible. You pack as much in as you can – that’s essentially the function of this machine.”
A dozer assists with the unloading of the semi trucks and helps to push the waste into the working cell.
The Contained Landfill has been operating since 1998. When it first opened, the volume of waste and CD&D material was 300-350 tons per day.
Last year, the Landfill was accepting over 1,000 tons per day.
