EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The City of El Paso is celebrating the addition of six new cells at the Greater El Paso Landfill, which will provide the area with more than 12 years of landfill space.
The $20 million investment, funded by the residential solid waste fee, will span 65 acres and will contribute to the community’s health, safety and welfare, according to a news release by the City of El Paso. The landfill serves not only El Paso but also the surrounding communities, such as Horizon, Clint and Fabens.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on Monday, March 23 at 2600 Darrington Road in Clint.
The Director for Environmental Services for the City of El Paso, Nicholas Ybarra, said every day the landfill receives about 2,000 tons of trash. He describes that one ton of trash is about the size of a little, smart car.
“We receive about 2,000 of those and dispose of them and compact them on a daily basis here at the Great El Paso Landfill,” Ybarra said.
Ybarra explains that the six new cells were engineered to have three layers of liner system to prevent any leakage of trash or protection of the groundwater and air quality throughout the city.
“Everything is engineered to make sure we’re keeping everything contained in one location and there’s no spillage or anything leaving the system that we designed here today,” Ybarra said.
According to the news release, constructing the new cells removed over two million cubic yards of dirt, installed liners to protect the soil and groundwater, and integrated specialized systems to collect and manage liquid byproducts from decomposing waste.
Ybarra said that the landfill is almost done filling the last cells that were built in 2018.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson says that it’s a lot of technology has gone into the cells that will help not only the area’s trash but also the environment.
“By disposing of the waste in the way that we’re doing, this is more technology too. It has a number of barriers that we’ve put in place to protect the waste so that it stays compacted and not getting into the environment. So, it has a lot of technology in this landfill. It’s not just your normal landfill,” Johnson said.
Ybarra explains that when everyone pays the $21.50 on their monthly water bill, its for trash service which includes the weekly collection of trash and the biweekly collection of recycling.
Additionally, a portion of that $21.50 will be saved for environmental services to pay for projects such as this one.
“This project alone costs us approximately $20 million. So that’s all funded through that $21.50. That $21.50 goes a long way through the (thousands of customers) that we have throughout the city,” Ybarra said.
For the next years to come, Ybarra says his department is looking to permit a new landfill that will give the City over 100 years of capacity.
“We’re starting the process up right now, hopefully within the next couple of months. And that the new permit we’re looking at will give us over 100 years capacity in the future. But we’re starting that now to make sure within five years, or six years, we’ll have a brand new permit and we’ll be able to start construction on new cells so we’re never lacking in landfill capacity,” Ybarra said.
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