New York County Turns: Landfill Into Recreational Park

WORLD WASTES STAFF

Westchester County, N.Y. - Res-idents of Westchester County, N.Y., may remember the days when Cro-ton Point Landfill was a recreation area. Now, after a 70-year saga, the 113-acre site has been permanently capped, reclaimed and returned to its original function - a park.

The county landfill, which began operations in 1927, was closed in 1986 with more than 10.4 million cubic yards of garbage. Situated on a peninsula on the Hudson River, the landfill was set within the boun-daries of the county-owned Croton Point Park, a 504-acre area which o-pened three years before a portion was carved off for the landfill.

The county began the $40 million construction project in 1992. The cap system prevents water from en-tering the landfill, collects and re-moves leachate and collects and treats landfill gas, which will be used to fuel park facilities.

The capping project also aimed to create homes for indigenous species such as eagles, hawks, egrets, loons, striped bass and owls. Nearly 5 tons of seed mixes were planted to provide food for wildlife; even a special planting area has been designed to attract rare butterflies.

The landfill closure required 550,000 square yards to be covered with plastic liner and the installation of more than 1 million square yards of a protective geotextile fabric. To collect landfill gases, more than 550,000 square yards of composite material rests below the liner material. In addition, more than 5.5 miles of gas collection piping are connected to 113 gas extraction wells. In the end, the capping required more than 225,000 cubic yards of granular fill and 100,000 cubic yards of top soil.

Last month, the county opened its refurbished park. Today, the county's refuse is sent to a WTE facility.

Facility Expansion Travis Body & Trailer, Houston, has expanded its facility to include a 20,000-square-foot building.

Fiscal Chambers Develop-ment Co. Inc., Pittsburgh, has reported a net loss of $5.3 million for the first quarter of 1995, which includes charges of $4.6 million for current and anticipated refinancing of the firm's lending agreements, severance benefits and merger-related expenses. Revenues re-portedly were $54.7 million, compared with $59.8 million in the first quarter of 1994.

New Company The Re-source Recovery Group of Rader Companies, Memphis, Tenn., a division of Beloit Corp., has become Rader Re-source Recovery Inc.

Grants The California Integrated Waste Management Board, Sacramento, Calif., will approved funding for the cleanup of the Booker waste tire site in Fresno County, the Hall waste tire site in Los Angeles County, the Round Valley illegal dumping sites in Mendocino County and an abandoned steel mill site in Alameda County.

Joint Venture Chemical Waste Management Inc., Oak Brook, Ill., and Advanced En-vironmental Technology Corp., Flanders, N.J., have formed Advanced Environmental Technical Services, L.L.C., a joint venture to provide technical support services for hazardous waste management.

Market Assessment GBB, Falls Church, Va., has been selected by Clean Washington Center, a division of the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, to conduct a market assessment of construction, demolition and landclearing debris.