Landfill Focuses On Continuous Improvement
Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill is pleased with the terms and conditions of the Consent Order and Agreement entered into with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in February 2020. Under the terms and conditions of this agreement, Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill has committed to investing substantial amounts of capital to purchase and install technology and equipment capable of treating and evaporating the leachate generated from the landfill on site.
Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill is confident that the plan for onsite treatment and evaporation will resolve the landfill's recent leachate disposal issues.
Meantime, the landfill's parent company, Pittsburgh-based Noble Environmental announced that it is working to reduce greenhouse emissions from Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill by up to 90%. The company is also transforming waste into reusable energy. A process involving membrane technology is now being used to separate methane from the gases emitted at landfills across the country, including the one in Belle Vernon. This innovation strips CO2 and other volatile organic components from the gas.
Noble Environmental CEO Rich Walton said, "The process is part of a $10 million dollar investment that will improve emissions by collecting landfill gas and converting it into valuable natural gas that will power our natural gas vehicles."
Those natural gas vehicles include trash hauling trucks used by Noble Environmental subsidiary County Hauling which services municipalities through Western Pennsylvania.
