On the other side of Days Cove Road is the Eastern Sanitary Landfill (ESL), Baltimore County's only current working landfill. Not all of our trash ends up in this landfill. Most trash is delivered to one of three sorting stations, where the trash is separated and placed into large tractor-trailer size dump trucks. About 2/3 of this trash goes to Wheelabrator Baltimore, a waste-to-energy facility in Baltimore City. The rest of the trash ends up in the landfill.
The 375 acre ESL opened in 1982, and is expected to be filled to capacity by 2054. A little more than half (195 acres) of the ESL land is actual landfill. The rest is used for other purposes, including a sorting station, a recycling sorting facility, and a composting section. The landfill is divided into 13 sections, called phases. Phases I through IX are filled and permanently covered over. Phase X has been receiving fill for over 3 years now. This section is 14 acres, about the size of 10 football fields.
Each phase consists of several layers. The bottom, a 64 foot deep hole, is compacted soil, then a layer of clay, and atop that is a plastic liner, kind of like a pool liner on steroids. Over that is a fiber liner, 6 inches of crushed stone, another fabric liner, then 12" of compacted soil. After all that, there is 4 inches of soft waste (meaning residential waste). Only then is the phase ready to accept trash from the separating station. At the end of each day, 6 inches of soil is put down on top of the day's trash. When phase X is finished, it will be 124 feet high, the highest point to date in the landfill. The phase will be topped by a waterproof liner and a thick layer of soil, and constantly monitored.
Two of the biggest problems at a landfill are the waste water, called leachate, and the methane gas produced. The leachate is collected into ponds and pumped to a water treatment plant to remove harmful compounds. The methane, which is far more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide, is collected and used to fuel 3 large electric generators to supply power to Central Maryland.
Click here to view an interesting video about the ESL.
The cache: Cache is hidden in a common spot, should be an easy find. Small gravel parking area nearby. Use stealth as needed. Most muggles will be in vehicles.
Congratulations to GnomeGCer and AllIsVanity and ?? for co-FTF. Happy New Year to all.
Check it out! CITO at the Mount, Sunday, April 18, 9 AM to 11AM