County hears landfill update: 37-year life estimate, recycling up to 13.2%

Vince Jamieson, district manager of Middle Peninsula Landfill, and Brian Lewis, director of engineering services, briefed the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors on landfill operations and community impacts at the board’s work session. Jamieson said the site has roughly four decades of remaining capacity at current maximum tonnage.

The update matters because the landfill handles the county’s municipal solid waste, provides contract revenue to the county and supports local convenience centers; changes in tonnage, costs or environmental controls affect county budgets and residents living near the facility.

Jamieson told the board, “If we max out on tonnage every year going forward, there's still 37 years of life.” He said that figure assumes a maximum intake of about 660,000 tons per year and noted the facility accepts waste from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, and occasionally from New York and New Jersey.

Waste Management provided multi-year financial and tonnage data: contract revenue paid to Gloucester County totaled $541,932 in 2022, $788,900 in 2023 and $700,511 in 2024. Gloucester County households deposited 29,754 tons in 2022, 29,879 tons in 2023 and 28,928 tons in 2024, according to Jamieson. He declined a board member’s request to provide total site revenue when asked directly.

Jamieson reported the landfill had used cells 1 through 13 and 15 (skipping 14 in sequence) and said roughly 41.36% of the site’s permitted airspace has been filled. He described the renewable-energy system at the site as a landfill gas-to-energy installation and, speaking to board members, said it “produces 6 megawatts of power per hour, 24 hours a day.” He added the electricity is sold back to the grid.

On recycling and convenience-center operations, Waste Management reported single-year recycling rates (by tonnage categories that include paper, commingled containers, metal, brush, tires, used oil and batteries): 9.5% in 2022, 9% in 2023 and 13.15% in 2024. Jamieson said the county’s five convenience centers cost approximately $1,505,333 to operate in 2024, with trucking to haul trash $573,082, recycling $101,799, household hazardous waste events $106,000 and labor $724,512.

Jamieson also presented a comparative cost scenario: using a hypothetical gate rate of $35 per ton and an assumed transportation cost of about $28.80 per ton to move county waste to the next-closest landfill in Charles City, he calculated a total transport-and-disposal cost of about $63.80 per ton, which would equate to roughly $11,914,000 annually under that scenario. He told the board that calculation did not include convenience-center operating costs, which would need to be added.

Board members raised community concerns about odor and noise. Jamieson said the company “continues to add to our gas collection system every year,” and described the existing system: a concentrator that feeds the renewable-energy plant plus a flare for excess gas. On noise, he said a sound-study identified a blade-pass frequency in a blower motor; a manufacturer-recommended modification temporarily worsened noise and was reversed, and the firm is now exploring options including adding a silencer to the stack.

Jamieson described community engagement and local support, listing in-kind and monetary donations to local youth sports, education, festivals and nonprofit events, and described multiple recycling and education partnerships with county schools and civic organizations.

Supervisor questions focused on tonnage trends, permitted acreage and whether an existing borrow area (about 60 acres) had been used; Jamieson said the borrow area remains unused and that the site currently has 224 acres permitted for landfill operations. Brian Lewis joined Jamieson on technical responses.

The board did not take a formal vote on any operational changes during the presentation. Supervisors and Waste Management staff agreed to continue dialogue and to provide follow-up data on several items, including cell-life math and options for additional odor/noise mitigation.

Less critical details: Waste Management representatives said they occasionally receive small quantities of out-of-state waste and that company staff are available to answer additional questions after the meeting.