Dive Brief:

• The Pitkin County landfill in Aspen, Colorado is exploring the possibility of building an on-site growing dome. A pilot dome has already been built nearby on city-owned land, and inside its walls grow countless varieties of edible plants and vegetables.
• A partnership is being established between the Aspen T.R.E.E., an agriculture education program, and the Pitkin County Solid Waste Center. The collaboration grew out of an idea to expand the use of the county landfill by creating a growing site for large-scale local agriculture. Both groups have a shared interest to create something constructive on the landfill grounds before it is shuttered in 25 years.
• The pilot dome project is located at Cozy Point Ranch, 170 acres of land, owned by the city of Aspen. It is the first of its kind in the area, and has paved the way for new land-use laws. 

Dive Insight:

There are numerous benefits to having a growing dome at the site of a landfill. Farm plots could eventually be built on capped sections. Another idea is the implementation of "restoration ecology": plants that produce land-healing vegetation grown on the site. Both the landfill and Aspen T.R.E.E. will create a management model together that could potentially transform the landfill into a mecca for gardeners. If food grown in the dome could be composted on site, that could become an additional benefit to reduce the high volumes of organic waste disposed of at landfills.