Saskatoon covering, compacting part of landfill

SASKATOON — The City of Saskatoon is compacting and covering part of its landfill that has reached full capacity.

This fall, more than 2,000 truckloads of soil will cover the entire 38,000 square metres of surface at least one metre thick on the north slope of the landfill, which is being compacted to minimize any environmental impact.

"This northwest mound was originally opened in 1955 and has served Saskatoon well," said Michelle Jelinski, senior project management engineer, in a press release. "Once it is fully compacted and contained, we will expand the landfill gas collection system to this area and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

The area is nearly nine football fields big and represents about 10 per cent of the total landfill site. The goal of the soil cover and compaction is to reduce odour, litter and potential for negative impacts to groundwater.

In 2011, city council approved the Landfill Optimization Plan to extend the life of the landfill by 40 more years to 2050. Recommendations include adopting new operational processes, reclaiming inefficiently-filled areas, managing gas emissions, expanding waste cells where possible and a concerted effort toward waste minimization.

"By being proactive and closing out this area of the landfill, we are able to meet regulatory requirements, minimize environmental impacts and be a good neighbour to the citizens of Saskatoon by improving the esthetics of the Landfill," said Jelinski.