Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘MOUNT TRASHMORE’ RISING
Broward’s 21-story landfill is about to grow taller and wider
The landfill nicknamed “Mount Trashmore” has been swelling for decades in Broward County, rising from a 10-foot pile of debris to a behemoth that’s more than 200 feet tall.
And it still has 10 to 15 more feet to grow before reaching its highest permitted peak.
The 52-year-old site, officially known as Monarch Hill Renewable Energy Park, is inching toward being full. A new section within the park’s area is being prepared to take trash at 2700 Wiles Road, in the unincorporated part of Broward.
Here’s a look at what Waste Management officials have begun planning for the 500-acre swath near Coconut Creek.
Q: When will the landfill reach capacity and what’ll happen to it afterward?
A: The landfill, which started in 1965, is the only place in the county that takes
household waste and sludge. And the 23-acre section, now being prepared for receiving trash at the northeast corner of the property, at Wiles and Powerline roads, is the last part of the site that’s permitted to take trash without knocking down existing buildings.
Waste Management officials estimate the landfill it owns will be filled up to its permitted maximum by 2035 — about 17 years from now. If hurricanes such as Irma sweep through every year, it could fill up in half that time.
Other landfills have become golf courses after they fill to capacity. After Monarch Hill stops taking trash, experts will keep track of the landfill’s gas generation and how the trash settles over 30 years. The site could one day become a passive park.
As far as where the trash will go in the future, it is not clear. Waste Management officials say the cities could turn to burning the trash, or maybe advancements in technology will offer a new answer.
Q: Which cities send their garbage there?
A: Debris from construction sites, trees and yards all heads to Monarch Hill from Broward County and other parts of South Florida. Palm Beach County has one landfill that takes all the same materials that Monarch Hill does and Miami-Dade County has three of them.
Q: How much of the 500 acres is “closed” with grass and a cap?
A: About 60 to 80 acres can’t take anymore. The peak has some room to go higher, 10 to 15 feet, depending on which peak. But the slopes leading to the tallest part of Monarch Hill must have a certain shape and some of the slopes have as much trash as they are going to get.
Q: Didn’t the “renewable energy” part of “Monarch Hill Renewable Energy Park” end when Waste Management shut down the trashto-energy incinerator there?
A: No. The methane gas that is produced as the trash percolates and decomposes is an energy source that is collected by 500 gas wells. That methane gas becomes a fuel source for an on-site, electricity-generating plant that powers an estimated 5,000 homes every day.
Q: What are some steps that Waste Management takes to contain the mess and smell?
A: Trained birds of prey are used to keep seagulls and other birds from congregating at the landfill. Newly deposited waste is covered with 6 inches of soil and deodorizing misters are on site.
Q: Where does that 3 million gallons of garbage juice go every month?
A: A pipe system sends it to the waste water treatment plant nearby.
Q: What’s up with the massive green tarp on the landfill’s southern slope that runs along Sample Road?
A: Half of the slope has reached capacity. The tarp is a temporary cap that will soon get more sand and grass atop it. When the landfill is finally closed, it will get a permanent cap.