Closure of Louisa County Landfill – Mineral, VA

In Louisa County, Virginia, a 14-acre, unlined sanitary landfill required a final closure cap. The County wanted to reduce the operating costs associated with natural grass cover maintenance, slope erosion repairs, and silt removal from stormwater ditches and sediment basins. LaBella’s Waste & Recycling team evaluated the County’s options, taking into consideration:

• Gas and leachate control
• Groundwater and drainage
• Erosion and resulting maintenance
• Initial and long-term costs
• On-site soil quality

ClosureTurf^®—an artificial turf cap system—met the County’s needs. Though initially more costly than a natural grass cover, ClosureTurf^® provides a three-year payback in reduced maintenance (mowing and erosion repair). Because the artificial turf cover system requires less soil, there is also room for an additional 45,000 cubic yards of waste in the permitted airspace prior to closure.

The ClosureTurf^® system was also selected and designed to anticipate the adjacent Subtitle D landfill being constructed (piggybacked) onto the eastern slope of the unlined landfill. The permitting of the piggyback expansion is expected to be completed by 2029.

From bottom to top, the innovative artificial turf cap system consists of:

• Intermediate cover soil foundation
• 50-mil linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) structured geomembrane liner (which offers savings on the future piggyback expansion lining)
• Engineered artificial turf layer
• 0.5-inch sand ballast layer (to anchor the artificial turf)
• Cement-lined stormwater conveyance channels

The LaBella team led the design and successfully navigated the permitting process—the first artificial turf closure permitted in Virginia. Delivered on time and on budget, the project is warrantied for 20 years.