Austin, Texas – The performance, durability and regulatory compliance of LiteEarth has been proven through a full spectrum of testing applicable to long-term closure of municipal solid waste (MSW), coal combustion residuals (CCR), mining and more.
LiteEarth is a synthetic grass and EPDM geomembrane liner designed to close landfills, coal ash sites and other land reclamation projects. Each of the components of LiteEarth has been separately tested and documented to meet their stated performance requirements as part of the overall system, for properties such as tensile strength, puncture resistance, tear resistance, methane gas permeability, seam strength, flume testing, water vapor transmission, UV resistance, wind uplift and more.
“The components of LiteEarth have been used successfully for decades, in a variety of applications,” said Charles Fleishman, director of LiteEarth. “Through our testing, we have proved their integrity, durability and performance as components, as well as a system.”
For landfills which may go through a significant amount of settlement, the flexibility and durability of the cover material is an important property. The EPDM is the impermeable liner of the product, to prevent infiltration and provide odor and gas containment. EPDM has been tested to perform under extreme temperatures and weather conditions, and offers greater puncture resistance, better linear dimensional performance and better multi-axial elongation than LLDPE, which has been used in alternative capping methods.
Fleishman further explained that by bonding synthetic turf to the EDPM, it reduces its exposure to UV, extending its lifetime performance well beyond exposed EPDM covers.
When exposed to large amounts of water at a high pressure to mimic heavy rainfall, results confirmed LiteEarth behaving equivalent to a layer of well-established natural grass. Further, results indicated that soil erosion would have occurred if sand was used as an infill, which LiteEarth does not require.
Not only is LiteEarth fully-tested to meet strict environmental and regulatory requirements, said Fleishman, it provides a wealth of other benefits. LiteEarth is a single, lightweight composite requiring no sand infill, contributing to efficient and economical installation, minimal maintenance and a lower environmental footprint. The system also addresses issues of soil erosion, slope failure, and lack of vegetative growth, while potentially saving thousands of dollars per acre each year years versus traditional Subtitle D.
Further testing results and documentation can be available upon request. For more information about LiteEarth, visit www.LiteEarth.com.
ABOUT LITEEARTH
LiteEarth is an advanced, engineered and fully-tested capping system for long-term closure of landfills, coal combustion residuals (CCR) and other monofils, mining and others. The turf closure system permanently combines synthetic turf and EPDM geomembrane into a long-lasting composite. The result is an efficient, economical and environmentally-responsible solution with very low installation and life cycle costs. The system has been fully tested according to ASTM and regulatory standards.
