Dive Brief:
- TerRenova LLC has offered $1 million for a closed landfill in Richfield Township, Michigan. The Clarkston, Michigan-based company anticipates mining recyclables from the site, making it the first landfill mining operation in the state.
- According to M Live, DEQ officials said that TerRenova is also considering a waste-to-energy facility, to be located on a different part of the 272-acre landfill.
- TerRenova has applied for a license to operate; the application is currently being reviewed. Regulations do not address the type of recycling mining work the company intends to pursue, so the state solid waste engineering coordinator said a consent agreement may be discussed to cover that issue.
Dive Insight:
One of the greatest issues facing the potential re-opening of the shuttered site is the need for a new plan for the disposal of leachate. The DEQ will move forward with closure plans already underway, if the company fails to produce a feasible plan.
The company's biggest problem, in regard to the leachate, can perhaps be solved using a water cannon, a device used by another Michigan landfill to propel leachate into the air, where it evaporates. This method reduces the costs associated with leachate removal and disposal.
