Wasatch Integrated Waste

(P.S. I took a bunch of pics, but they all turned out pretty blurry. Sorry!)

Another field trip today! Today I got to go with Kiera's class to visit the Wasatch Integrated Waste facility in Layton. Yep, the dump. But man, it was so interesting! It was disgusting and disturbing, but it was inspirational in a way too.

This facility was built in the mid-1980s and is the only one in Utah - the next closest ones are in California and Oregon. But this place is where all our garbage (that isn't recycled separately) goes. It services the entire Davis and Morgan counties, with the exception of Bountiful City. We saw lots of garbage trucks dump their whole load onto a big concrete slab, where a bulldozer pushed it into a huge "holding area." This holding area had tons and tons of garbage piled up. Then we got to go to an observation area on the upper level of the holding area and watched a guy control a massive "claw" that "fluffed up" the garbage (so it wasn't compressed), then dump it into a huge funnel. (P.S. This claw can pick up over 1 ton of garbage in each scoop!) After the garbage goes into the funnel, it gets incinerated at nearly 2000 degrees. Any by-product gases produced during this process are filtered and treated before they're released into the air again. During the incineration, large containers of water are boiled, creating steam. Some of the steam is transported to Hill Air Force Base where it is used in some way, and some of the steam is used to turn turbines, which creates electricity.

Anyway, after the ashes are cooled, a huge magnet extracts any remaining metals so they can be recycled. Then whatever is left over is taken to the landfill, where I'm amazed at the steps they take to control the amount disposed. The landfill offers compost, household hazardous waste recycling, electronic recycling, even a "Give and Take" area kind of like the D.I., only free! The "little" amount that can't be minimized any further is put into the landfill. The landfill is lined with plastic and covered with a big tarp-like thing so nothing leaks into the groundwater and the noxious gasses aren't released into the air. In fact, they have "vacuums" that suck up any methane gas that might be released. So at the landfill, we didn't see any garbage at all - it was all covered! When the landfill reaches its capacity (they estimate about 25 years), it will be covered over with dirt and grass will be planted.

So yes, visiting the facility was stinky and gross. But it was also fascinating to see what actually happens to our garbage. Did you know that each person produces about 4 1/2 pounds of garbage each day?! And this facility receives over 1000 TONS of garbage each day. Wow. The facility personnel emphasized over and over how important it is to reduce, reuse and recycle. We've all heard it so many times before, but it's simple. If we do those things to the best of our ability, it makes a big difference - not only for us but for generations to come.

Seeing this made me sooooo grateful that Centerville (and most other cities in Davis and Salt Lake counties) offers curbside recycling. I'm also so excited to have Centerville offer "green recycling" soon (I'm still trying to decide if I want to do that or finally get a compost going in our own yard). And I'm glad to know that what little garbage we have that can't be recycled is being used to create something good as well!