Take a look inside Modern Landfill's new wastewater treatment plant

Landfills like the one straddling Windsor and Lower Windsor townships inevitably have to deal with the issue of wastewater runoff.

Neighbors of the Modern Landfill have long raised concerns about the landfill's wastewater discharges — also called leachate — and, more recently, concerns about so-called toxic "forever chemicals" found in nearby water supplies.

Those discharges exceeded chemical element amounts set by the state Department of Environmental Protection since 2017, necessitating the construction of a wastewater treatment plant this year to treat runoff from the landfill.

The path from oozing garbage liquid to clean water is long and winding one.

It begins when trash is collected. Bagged garbage is compressed in a truck and then incinerated before reaching a landfill. Once it reaches the landfill, however, fluid is further extracted from the waste. This is where it must be processed into nearly drinkable water before being released into Kreutz Creek.

Cleaning garbage water through reverse osmosis

As part of the treatment process, wastewater passes through a series of membranes, a filtration system designed to extract the smallest particles – invisible to the naked eye – from wastewater generated by the landfill's contents.

Garbage juice is made by humans, and Modern Landfill has to make sure the liquids derived from compacting that human-made refuse over time are clean enough to enter Kreutz Creek.

The company must adhere to regulations dictating how close to Kreutz Creek it can conduct certain waste management practices; those regulations also apply to wetlands that are on the company’s property.

Jake Schmidt, environmental manager at Modern Landfill, explains the reverse osmosis system, where fluid derived from landfill waste is filtered to be cleaned.

Modern Landfill is a subsidiary of garbage-conglomerate Republic Services. The company has invested almost $23 million to upgrade Modern Landfill's wastewater management equipment to have the best technology and handle more capacity, according to company officials.

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Taxonomy

• Waste Water Treatments
• Wastewater Treatment
• Water & Wastewater Treatment