KAB provides resources and education to inspire individuals &
the Austin community toward greater environmental stewardship

Green Teens: July 15, 2011 Texas Disposal System Tour

Mon, 08/08/2011 - 11:31 — KAB
While schools might be closed for the summer, KAB’s Green Teens interns are still active learning. Field trips or rather study trips this summer included harvesting fresh produce at Urban Roots, following the path of underground water at the Splash! exhibit at Barton Springs, and heading fifteen miles south of Austin to tour the Texas Disposal System’s (TDS) landfill. On July 15th as the interns pulled up to the 1,750 acre facility located in Creedmor, Texas they noticed much to their surprise that there wasn’t an odor and they didn’t see any trash. Learning about solid waste and spending a couple of hours looking at a big pile of garbage didn’t pose much appeal. Tour guide Jason Sanders, TDS Recycling and Composting Coordinator had a big challenge ahead of him – making Austin’s solid waste exciting and interesting.
 
 

Jason begins by explaining that TDS started as a small hauling and scrap metal recycling company with one garbage truck that still sits on display today.  TDS is much more than a landfill today. Upon entering the facility you notice the large flea market selling still functional goods and repaired broken appliances - as the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  Watching the meticulous sorting of materials from incoming trucks, we saw just how serious Jason was when he said that nothing on the property goes to waste.  TDS sees every inch of their landfill space as an investment for the future, and works hard to divert useful materials from it.  Organic waste is composted, while synthetic waste is sorted at the onsite Materials Recovery Facility. 
 
Further down the road large nettings surround the property. The netting is slightly sloped at an 88 degree angle to catch wayward trash and the property is surprisingly clean. The interns look for litter and can’t find a single piece in sight. 
 
  
 
TDS operates a small “working face” of the landfill which is the section that is open, filled with trash, compacted, and covered with soil.  A new working face is created every day – cutting down on odor, keeping trash from blowing away, and deterring birds and other wildlife.

 

The heavy piece of machinery on top of the landfill is a compactor, a 1 million dollar piece of equipment used to crush and reduce the waste volume. The investment pays off, saving space and maximizing the amount of waste that can fit in the cell.

 

Next to the working face, the girls noticed what looked like a small ledge.  A closer look shows a large drop into an enormous pit where heavy machinery excavates clay earth to create room for future garbage.

 
After watching the compactor, we drive through the landfill to the soil and compost yard.  TDS now supplies compost bins to Austin schools, diverting tons of food and organic waste from the landfill. Through decomposition the materials are transformed into nutrient rich soil and mulch. Untreated wood from the landfill is stripped of nails with magnets, chipped, and added to the compost. The compost is composed of 5 parts chipped wood, 1 part manure from a large horse farm, and 1 part food waste from schools.
 
 

Each carefully developed compost row is turned, watered, and left to “cook”.  We arrived just in time to see a large machine turning the rows, adding oxygen for the aerobic micro organisms and fungi doing all the work.  The corresponding numbers tell a story for each pile – when it was created, what it contains, and when it will be finished. 

 
In addition to recycling organic waste, TDS sorts out large metals, tires, cans, and even TV dinner pans (pictured right).  Interestingly, Jason shared that you can’t landfill whole tires because they will “walk” their way to the top of the pile over time. Once the tires are separated they will be shredded and used as flooring in school playgrounds.
 
  
Closed landfills can’t be developed due to the settling of the decomposing waste. Therefore, many companies  reclaim the land as parks, nature preserves, and wildlife refuges. The owners of TDS have a soft spot for exotic animals. Lucky for us we toured the preserve next to spot zebras, giraffes, ibex, and goats that stared lazily as we strolled past, while the girls rushed to snap photos and video clips. 
 
 
When we pull up to the Materials Recovery Facility, commonly referred to as MRFs, Jason points out the familiar blue bins wrapped up between milk jugs and assorted plastic.  You may recognize them as the Single Stream bins previously used for home recycling. Sometimes the whole bin gets thrown in the truck by accident.  So what happens to them?  Recycled, of course. 
 
 
Before heading into the busy factory, we gear up with plastic goggles and hard hats.  Workers either operate large machines or hand sort the recycling into their respective materials.  At the facility, recyclables are dumped onto the tipping floor, where they are loaded onto a conveyor belt and separated from heavy cardboard and waste.  Glass is sorted next and then the newspaper using a star screen and industrial fans.  In this section, aluminum cans are sorted from waste by emptying one large batch at a time. 
 
 
 
The girls are fascinated by the large amount of materials being processed. They stop to notice packaging they have used before, and one of the interns even takes home an old book from the 1940’s. 

As we got up close to spot some familiar packaging, intern Lesley noticed a “contaminant” that slipped by – can you spot the aluminum can?
 
 
Right as we are walking out, we see a personal note written by a young girl. The note reminded us that although at first glance all we see is a pile of trash, these items have a personal connection to people and the city. Everyone produces garbage, whether it’s a half eaten sandwich, an old toothbrush, or an empty cereal box. With so much waste being generated it is exciting to see companies and individuals finding creative ways to reuse the materials. As Jason likes to put it, “this isn’t a pile of garbage, it’s a pile of resources.”
 
KAB would like to send a big thank you to TDS, longtime KAB partner and sponsor for sharing their facility and knowledge to enhance our Green Teens education programs!

KAB Program Links:  Event Recycling, Longhorn Recycle Roundup, School Recycling, Activity Kits-Recycle Matters