The potential for reduction of landfill waste by recycling and mining of construction and demolition waste at the White Street Landfill, Greensboro, North Carolina

Throughout the United States, many communities are faced with landfills that are reaching capacity. Due to stricter regulations and public awareness, simply opening new landfills is not always an option. Extending the life of a present landfill with a number of waste diversion initiatives including recycling as the key has become paramount. One type of waste that is currently of interest for potential recycling is Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste. In 1998, at the White Street Landfill, Greensboro, North Carolina, a section known as Phase II was dedicated to the disposal of C&D waste. This study explores the ability to extend the life of Phase II by a combination of mining the existing C&D waste, and recycling new C&D waste entering the landfill. The City of Greensboro Construction/Demolition Permit Application originally indicated a total available volume of 612,195 cubic yards (yd3) for C&D waste material in Phase II. Using this volume, it was originally predicted that Phase II would reach capacity in approximately 9.5 years. The increase in C&D waste in 1999 due to the closing of other C&D waste landfills in the area has significantly changed the life of Phase II. A recalculation of the Phase II life with the increased volume and potential growth based on the expected increase in population establishes the Phase II closing date at the beginning of 2002. With the assumption that 59.5% of the incoming C&D waste volume is recyclable, the closing of Phase II could be extended to the end of 2005 or the beginning of 2006. This will add approximately 4 years to the life of Phase II, and will generate an additional $1.5 million in revenue. This revenue should be sufficient to fund the cost of establishing an on-site C&D waste-recycling center.