MSB solid-waste manager outlines landfill upgrades after Veterans Day fire; glass pulverizer purchase approved

Jeff Smith, Solid Waste Division manager for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, told the assembly on Dec. 3 that the borough’s Central Landfill collected 96,450 tons of material in the last year and outlined a multi-year plan to expand operations and reduce future costs.

Smith said the landfill is seeing modest year-over-year growth and described a Veterans Day blaze at the site that he said was likely sparked by organic material and improper disposals that reached the C&D (construction and demolition) cell. "We probably have 1 to 2, perhaps sometimes 3 fires a month on a regular basis," Smith said, noting that the recent large fire required foam that he said cost on the order of $6,000 and prompted coordination with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and air-quality agencies.

The presentation focused on infrastructure changes intended to reduce such risks and operating costs. Smith described a planned new 20-acre campus at Central Landfill that will include a tipping floor, an operations building and a scale house with two inbound and two outbound scales (including an automated lane). The tipping floor will allow staff to separate C&D and residential trash on-site, improving the ability to remove hazardous items — for example, to pull out lithium batteries and small propane canisters that can cause compactor-related fires.

Smith said the campus is roughly 55% grant-funded and that the borough will issue an RFP for automation software "so we can get different software that accommodates that." He described the tipping building as three-sided with a three-foot wall where residents will offload materials for sorting; fully enclosing the building, he said, would have added an estimated $2 million to $2.5 million in cost because of required fire-suppression and HVAC systems.

Smith also reported work on a leachate evaporation system that will use landfill methane to heat evaporation and thus reduce hauling to Anchorage. He said the borough currently hauls about 15,000 gallons of leachate per day (roughly three loads), and that truck availability limits capacity. He said evaporation will be built beginning next April with a projected completion no later than October, and that the borough currently disposes "4 to 5,000,000 gallons a year" of leachate; using on-site methane would reduce operating fuel costs and keep PFAS-containing residuals on-site rather than sending them to Anchorage for treatment.

Smith summarized other projects and timelines: a three-acre compost pad funded in part by a roughly $3.5 million grant (equipment procurement expected in the next 12–18 months); new hazardous-waste collection areas and plans to design a larger hazardous-waste building; expansion of cell 4 to extend its life by about four years (design nearly complete, anticipated bid in early 2025); gas-well additions to collect more methane; and upgrades at Big Lake, Talkeetna and Willow transfer sites.

Smith provided tonnage breakdowns and service statistics: of the 96,450 total tons he reported, about 65,000–66,000 tons were municipal solid waste (MSW) destined for the trash cell, roughly 24,000 tons were C&D material, and the rest were other streams. He said the borough issued just over 5,200 landfill-coupon vouchers this year and about 3,200 have been returned, producing roughly $70,000 in savings to residents so far.

Assembly members and members of the public asked questions about trends, leachate volumes and the fate of tires and shredder capacity. Smith said some large tires are buried rather than shredded and that the borough will try to keep tires out of the C&D pit where feasible; shredding and a staff training session were planned. He said the tipping-floor design will direct residential customers through the tipping building while most commercial customers will continue to drive directly to the cell.

The assembly approved the consent agenda, which included AM 24136 — the award of bid 2578b to Andela Products in the amount of $185,022 to purchase a glass pulverizer for the Solid Waste Division. Smith said a pulverizer will allow the borough to break glass into sand or small chips for use as driveway material, road base or construction aggregate if volumes make that feasible.

Smith closed by inviting assembly members to tour the landfill: "You're welcome to come out anytime," he said, adding that spring is the best time to see operations in motion.

Ending: The projects Smith described — the tipping campus, leachate evaporation system, compost pad and related transfersite upgrades — are phased across 2025–2027. The assembly approved the glass pulverizer purchase as part of the consent agenda; further construction contracts and grant approvals will return to the assembly as they advance toward bidding and construction.