Dive Brief:
- A new waste pipeline installed at a Republic Services-owned landfill site in Bridgeton, MO, is nearing completion.
- The pipeline, stretching seven and a half miles, will transport millions of gallons of leachate, the black liquid created from decomposing waste, from the landfill to an existing sewer line.
- Residents are concerned because the liquid toxins will be carried underground, under towns and neighborhoods.
Dive Insight:
Doug Clemens, chairman of the West Lake Landfill Community Action Group, said the community questions the safety of the pipeline. He said, “We’re a little bit concerned with the history of Republic Services and their responsibility as a civic partner and them following regulation.”
Republic Services issued a statement that its new leachate treatment plant meets all Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) standards. An MSD spokesperson said that when the waste “hits the pipeline,” it’s no different from any other industrial waste the sewer district accepts.
The Bridgeton landfill has been a contentious subject within the community for years. An underground fire that began in 2010 continues to smolder underneath the site.
