Phoenix officials outline operations, environmental protections and cost savings at SR 85 landfill

Public works officials on June 18 told the Transportation Infrastructure and Planning Subcommittee that the city’s State Route 85 (SR 85) landfill in Buckeye is meeting environmental protections while the department pursues technologies and operational changes to extend the site’s life and reduce capital costs.

The presentation, led by Public Works Director Felipe Pamareno and delivered principally by Assistant Public Works Director Lori Zaldesteller and Deputy Public Works Director Chris Fine, described the landfill as the city’s primary disposal site. Zaldesteller said the landfill “serves more than 420,000 single-family residential customers of the city of Phoenix” and takes in about “1,000,000 tons of garbage each year.” She also noted the site houses a 10-megawatt solar plant built in partnership with APS that began operating in 2015.

The subcommittee was shown the site’s…