An Inside Look into Where our Trash Goes
Spring 2023
If you live in southern Chester County, chances are that your trash ends up in the Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority (SECCRA) Community Landfill in West Grove. Landfills are fascinating places where many systems converge, like environment, energy, and obviously, waste. If you've ever wondered what happens to the 4.4 pounds of trash we each make every day (on average), here is a glimpse into the operations of the SECCRA landfill.
There are numerous federal and state regulations at play to make sure landfills don't cause unnecessary environmental harm. Firstly, an impermeable plastic lining is installed to ensure landfilled material is contained and cannot leach into the soil and groundwater. The SECCRA landfill has several groundwater monitoring wells (including some upstream of the landfill) to monitor water quality, and to determine whether any issues identified are being caused by the landfill. In PA, landfills are required to capture a minimum of 90% of the methane produced by the waste, and the SECCRA landfill takes this a step further by converting the landfill gas into electricity using an on-site generator that powers the landfill's operations. They are currently working toward establishing a partnership to convert the landfill gas to renewable natural gas, which is highly marketable.
Above and beyond these regulations, the landfill does everything it can to be a good neighbor. A series of fences blocks trash from blowing across or off the site, and staff and/or volunteers regularly remove trash from the fences. They also provide free disposal for community litter cleanups. After their former landfill in Kennett Square reached capacity, SECCRA's Board formed the Kennett Area Park Authority and converted the former landfill into what is now Anson B. Nixon Park, a treasured amenity in the Kennett area.
Improving the recycling system is top of mind for SECCRA. Currently the landfill charges a small fee to drop off many types of recyclable materials, including tires, appliances, motor oil, and yard waste. They also operate 11 recycling drop-off locations that accept paper, aluminum and steel cans, and most plastic food and beverage containers. However, because recyclables must be trucked to the landfill for sorting and then trucked to material recovery facilities in either King of Prussia or Wilmington, DE, for processing, the overall cost of recycling is around 50% more costly than landfilling, and that cost is borne by the landfill. For this reason, SECCRA is pursuing development of their own on-site "mini-materials recovery facility" that will eliminate the need to haul materials away for processing, making the cost of recycling closer to that of landfilling.
SECCRA's website has a wealth of information about their landfill and recycling, and even contains a "virtual tour" of their landfill gas-generated power.
Chester County's other landfill, operated by the Chester County Solid Waste Authority, serves the majority of the county's residents. They offer many of the same services as the SECCRA community landfill, including periodic household hazardous waste drop-off events.