Landfill operators seeking expansion approvals and increased disposal limits recently won support from key local officials, but face pushback from residents. 

Meanwhile, other landfill operators are responding to odor complaints and sorting out permitting disputes.

Here’s a look at some of the more notable landfill news from the past month.

Commissioners approve WM’s Monarch Hill Landfill expansion despite local pushback

Florida’s Broward County Commission 5-3 on Tuesday to allow WM to expand its Monarch Hill Landfill. The plan will expand the landfill by 24 acres horizontally and 100 feet vertically.

The County approved a series of proposals at the meeting, including the height change approval and a code amendment allowing local landfills to hit a maximum height of 325 feet. WM plans to repurpose 24 acres of land once occupied by the Wheelabrator North incinerator, which closed in 2015 and was demolished in 2024.

WM has said the combined plans will extend the life of the landfill by 16 years. As of November, Monarch Hill has about six years of capacity remaining, according to WM's proposed land use plan. The landfill takes in about 5,000 tons of material a day, 90% of which is C&D waste and 10% is MSW. As part of another agreement the county commission approved, WM will no longer accept MSW at the landfill after it surpasses 225 feet.

WM considers the landfill an important storm debris resource, taking in about 12,000 tons per day of storm debris after Hurricane Irma in 2017 and a total of 1 million tons of Hurricane Wilma storm debris in 2005. WM officials have previously told Broward County Commissioners that the landfill cannot accept more hurricane or storm debris without the expansion approval. 

The county commission delayed a vote on the matter several times in the past year, in part because the county’s Solid Waste Authority is working on a new Regional Solid Waste and Recycling Master Plan meant to assess the county’s current waste disposal systems, WLRN reported. The master plan, which was meant to be released last year but is now delayed until August, is anticipated to recommend improvements over the next 40 years. 

Residents and officials in nearby towns have long spoken out against the proposed expansion. Officials in Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach and other communities say the plans would increase truck traffic on local roads, generate noise and air pollution and create odors.

Some Florida state representatives also spoke against the expansion at the Tuesday meeting, calling for the county to wait for more information from the forthcoming master plan, WLRN reported.

Coconut Creek officials say they plan to challenge the County Commission’s decision in court, Local 10 reported.

LA County approves wildfire debris exceptions at Republic, WM landfills, sparking outcry

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Feb. 25 to allow the county-owned Calabasas Landfill to accept fire-related debris from outside its normal service area. The Board also approved a plan to temporarily increase tonnage limits at WM’s Lancaster Landfill, as well as the Sunshine Canyon Landfill run by a Republic Services subsidiary. 

The changes are meant to accommodate waste related to the Eaton and Palisades fires, which the board said was necessary to more quickly remove debris from neighborhoods affected by the fires, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Calabasas Landfill, which services about 350 square miles in the Los Angeles area but doesn’t cover the entire region affected by the fires, can now temporarily accept ash and debris from the entire region for the next six months, the Times reported.

Under the new board approval, recommended by the county’s public works department, Sunshine Canyon can accept an additional 2,900 tons of solid waste per day, as long as it consists only of fire debris. The Lancaster Landfill can now receive an additional 4,000 tons per day, solely of wildfire debris. That temporary limit increase is for a 120-day period.

The decision sparked outcry from area residents and local officials, who say the fire-related debris is potentially toxic and could contaminate the air and water. They also worry the landfills are not equipped to safely handle hazardous materials. Residents organized several protests this week.

Meanwhile, the Calabasas City Council is seeking a restraining order in hopes of blocking the county from accepting more wildfire debris at the Calabasas Landfill.

Expansions

• A Republic Services subsidiary recently withdrew its appeal to a decision that blocked plans for a northward expansion of the Middle Point Landfill in Tennessee. The site is projected to reach capacity in about four years. A proposal to expand southward remains active. (Rutherford County Source and WKRN)
• WM and officials in Tonitown, Arkansas, have differing views about whether a city permit allowing for expansion of the Eco-Vista Landfill has expired. The proposed expansion has drawn legal challenges in recent years. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
• The U.S. Department of Energy recently completed excavation for a new disposal cell and evaporation pond areas at the Idaho CERCLA Disposal Facility. The 500,000-cubic-meter expansion is expected to extend the nuclear waste site’s operational life by 25 years. (DOE)
• Archeuleta County, Colorado, purchased approximately six acres of land for $24,000 to use for the construction of a new landfill cell. (The Pagosa Springs Sun)

Community relations

• Waste Connections is ending a relocation assistance program for residents living near its Chiquita Canyon Landfill in California. The program, which came in the wake of ongoing odor issues and community complaints, ran for one year and spent an estimated $25 million. (The Santa Clarita Valley Signal)
• GFL Environmental’s Stoney Creek Landfill in Ontario is the source of ongoing odor complaints from local residents. The company says it’s in the process of moving stockpiled waste into lined cells and is also building an enclosed leachate treatment system. (The Hamilton Spectator)
• Residents that live near the Atlantic County Utilities Authority’s landfill in New Jersey continue to raise concerns about odors and birds. A lawsuit is pending as ACUA looks to expand the site, which is projected to reach capacity in 2029. (NJ.com)