Accomack County Northern Landfill Capped with ClosureTurf Wins ACEC Virginia 2019 Engineering Excellence Honor Award
Accomack County chose ClosureTurf for its landfill closure of Cell 2 based on proven performance as well as environmental and cost benefits. The product solved the landfill’s sandy soil erosion issues, significantly reduced the short and long-term maintenance costs and minimized the carbon footprint of the landfill closure.
Key Benefits of ClosureTurf at the Accomack County Landfill Closure:
- Eliminated the need for 20,000 cubic feet of barrier soil required for a traditional vegetated cap, saving 1,000 truck trips to move soil to the site.
- Eliminating trucked soil reduced the carbon footprint of the closure by 80 percent.
- Reduction in soil layer provided an additional two feet of airspace for waste disposal.
- Benchless design provided cost savings, made construction faster and improved the overall stability and erosion control.
- Significantly reduces the post-closure maintenance cost at this landfill.
- Provides an aesthetically pleasing facade as it is the first thing the public sees when arriving at the landfill.
ClosureTurf was uniquely positioned to solve challenges posed by the Accomack County Northern Landfill, which is located on a peninsula-like area on the eastern edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
In this geographic region, sandy soils easily erode making it difficult to maintain a traditional vegetated cap. In fact, the traditional closure of previous cells experienced significant erosion during construction due to heavy rains typical of the eastern shore of Virginia.
The use of ClosureTurf reduced project costs by eliminating the need for 20,000 cubic yards of soil to cover the geomembrane liner. This saved approximately 1,000 truck trips, improving safety and reducing the carbon footprint during construction by 80 percent. The benchless design also reduced costs associated with benches and/or diversion berms, and allowed for a faster construction period.
Additionally, a traditional landfill closure requires post-closure maintenance activities, including storm water management, repairing erosion of the soil/vegetation barrier and mowing the grass on the cap. ClosureTurf will significantly reduce long-term maintenance costs over the life of the cover.
ClosureTurf looks like natural grass and is aesthetically pleasing. This is important because the north face of Accomack’s Cell, which is covered with ClosureTurf, is the first thing the public sees when arriving at the landfill.