Landfill now 67 percent full

Approximately 67 percent of the two constructed cells at the $10 million Marpi landfill have already been used since the facility’s opening in 2003.

The cells could have been almost filled to capacity by now were it not for best management practices by the Department of Public Works, including the recycling of about 27 percent or 69,531 tons of all the trash hauled to the landfill in six years, it was learned yesterday.

Plans are now in place for additional cells in the landfill, and it calls for low-technology waste volume reduction, including composting, as part of the value-engineering specific design and development of the site.

Steve Hiney, solid waste technical consultant for DPW, yesterday said the landfill site plan calls for the building of six cells with an estimated capacity of approximately 20 years.

“Through application of best management practices, DPW has been able to extend the life of the existing cells,” he told Saipan Tribune.

The Marpi landfill has received a total of 257,043 tons of trash since 2003.

Of this total, 69,531 tons or some 27 percent have been recycled, and the rest were disposed of in the landfill.

“Of the two constructed cells, we have utilized approximately 67 percent of existing capacity,” Hiney added.

The Marpi landfill, which was opened when the Puerto Rico dump was closed to the public in 2003, can accept up to 100 tons of waste per day and diverts 3 to 5 tons of trash a day to recycling.

DPW is the permit holder for the site and has direct operational management over the landfill. This is accomplished through public-private partnerships to secure needed equipment such as a compactor and bulldozers, as well as the testing required, security, and pest control.

The current tipping fees in the landfill remain at $25 a ton for commercial waste and $35 a ton for special waste. The government has no current plans to raise these tipping fees.

The Marpi landfill is the first fully compliant municipal landfill in the Pacific territories. It includes site-support facilities, small-haulers drop-off area, diesel electrical power generation facility, 12-acre lined waste management unit, 5-million gallon leachate storage pond, water and wastewater systems, stormwater control systems, fuel storage systems, and site access roads and parking.

In regional environmental conferences, the construction of the Marpi landfill has always been recognized as one of the solid waste success stories in the CNMI and the region.