Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) 7 October 2011 – The solid waste industry has “gone green.” Facing increased regulations, tighter budgets and community pressure, landfills are looking to reduce their environmental impact. One opportunity is through the use of ClosureTurf™, a ground-breaking closure system that has helped many landfills increase long term performance while simultaneously reducing their carbon footprint by up to 75 percent.
Landfills are required to perform temporary, or intermediate, closure once individual landfill cells are full, and then install a “final cap” once a landfill has reached its maximum permitted capacity. ClosureTurf™, distributed by Agru America, is an engineered system that drastically reduces the time, cost and environmental impact associated with landfill closure. Composed of a specialized artificial turf layer over an impermeable structured geomembrane, ClosureTurf™ can be laid directly on the required intermediate soil cover, thereby eliminating the standard two feet of soil and grass used in the traditional closure process. A recent installation in California found that by using ClosureTurf™, landfill operators removed over 40,000 truck trips from the road and saved over 10 acres of land from destruction. The artificial turf, which can be customized to site specifications, requires no maintenance and fertilization further reducing air, water and noise pollution.
Landfill engineers Mike Ayers and Jose Urrutia created ClosureTurf™ after witnessing the common failure and poor performance of both traditional closure and Exposed Geomembrane Cover Systems (EGCS). Unlike traditional methods, ClosureTurf™ is not vulnerable to erosion, gas pressure buildup, earthquake loads, poor maintenance and inadequate post-closure oversight. EGCS, while lessening the environmental impact of traditional installation, still present many disadvantages such as wind uplift issues, accessibility, standing water and negative aesthetics. By infilling the turf with sand to act as ballast, ClosureTurf™ does not require EGCS’ numerous anchor trenches to provide wind resistance. This allows faster, “close as you go” capping, resulting in quicker control of odors and gas emissions. Also, the turf and sand combination creates a high drainage capacity allowing surface water to filter through rapidly and virtually silt free. ClosureTurf’s HDPD yarns protect the impermeable liner from weathering and its components work together to allow post-closure traffic access — most small rubber-tired vehicles and low ground pressure equipment can operate on the material without causing damage.
ClosureTurf™ provides both immediate and long term environmental benefits. As more and more landfills are converted into “energy parks,” operators, including Progressive Waste Solutions (formerly IESI-BFI), appreciate ClosureTurf’s ability to serve as a platform for future renewable energy initiatives. Solar developers welcome the ease in which solar panels can be integrated into the system while providing a clean and easily accessible solar field. For landfill gas projects, the system enhances gas collection resulting in a more efficient waste-to-energy process. Notes Director of Operations Delaney Lewis, “with more and more landfills seeking to harvest landfill gas for energy generation, it has become increasingly important to maintain the quality of the methane produced. ClosureTurf’s™ impermeable barrier captures 100% of the emissions while creating very little condensate. The fact that ClosureTurf™ can help turn what was once a hazard into a commodity with economic and environmental benefits is very satisfying.”
Learn more:
http://www.closureturf.com/
MEDIA CONTACT
Kimberly Torek
Galiant Group
+1 770 608 3763
