Situated on approximately 1,200 acres, Green Ridge is a proposed state-of-the-art recycling and waste management facility in Cumberland County, Virginia. The facility will be a substantial source of revenue for the County and jobs for its citizens. The approximately 104-acre disposal area under the proposed permit will include a Department of Environmental Quality-approved composite liner system, and the facility will also feature a citizen convenience center for Cumberland residents. This facility is designed to meet the needs of Virginia and will only accept waste from within Virginia. With an estimated life of at least 15 years based on the proposed waste disposal area, Green Ridge will be a reliable revenue stream to support public services and County projects. Green Ridge could provide significant revenue for decades to come if any expansion occurred, but any such expansion would be subject to additional permitting processes. Once capped and closed it will continue to be monitored and will serve as open green space, with the area not used for waste utilized in a number of beneficial ways as determined by the County.

Where is Green Ridge?

Green Ridge is located on the far eastern edge of Cumberland County, Virginia, just off Route 60 north of Miller Lane and east of Pinegrove Road. The site is conducive to this type of facility. With easy access to Route 60 and additional major transportation corridors, the site is ideally located to minimize impact on the County. The geography and geology of the property are well-suited for a solid waste management facility like Green Ridge.

What types of waste will Green Ridge accept?

Green Ridge will operate six days a week, and serve as a solid waste management facility for Central Virginia. Most of the waste will come from Green Ridge Virginia, formerly County Waste of Virginia, customers. Under the proposed permit, Green Ridge cannot accept more than 1,500 tons per day. The facility will not accept any toxic or hazardous materials, nuclear waste, wastewater treatment sludge, fly ash or processed construction debris, such as sheet rock. Green Ridge will take non-hazardous household waste, construction and demolition debris and approved industrial waste. Green Ridge will service only Virginia, with a vast majority of the waste it receives coming from Central and Southwest Virginia.

Who will operate Green Ridge?

GFL Environmental (GFL), which purchased County Waste of Virginia in 2020, has more than 300,000 customers statewide and has a management team with more than 30 years’ experience in operating and managing facilities like Green Ridge. Through its subsidiary, the GFL management team will oversee the design, construction, and operation of the site. Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will regulate Green Ridge, where compliance with all state laws is a top priority. With decades of experience and a dedication to clean, friendly operations, Green Ridge will be a valuable community partner.

After the local permitting process but prior to the submittal of the project to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, changes to the design and size of the facility have been made. In response to the community, Green Ridge has made a number of changes to its proposed permit. These changes reduce the amount of disposal units from two to one, and will significantly reduce the impact of the facility on both the environment and neighboring homeowners. Green Ridge has redesigned the project so that there is zero impact to wetlands or streams. Given that there will no longer be an Eastern Fill Area, the number of homes that are located within a half mile of the disposal area will be reduced from 58 to 37.

Design and Layout

Facility

Green Ridge is designed with area residents in mind – the facility will have a minimum 200-foot-wide perimeter buffer with adjacent residential properties to the facility. The facility is designed to minimize noise, odor, and stormwater runoff. Tremendous care has been taken to ensure a design that allows for easy accessibility with minimal impact on traffic. Also, the facility will be built in compliance with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality regulations and any laws that pertain to its construction. We will not accept hazardous materials nor wastewater treatment facility sludge or processed sheet rock, which will play a significant role in keeping odor under control.

Liner Design

Subject to DEQ’s approval, Green Ridge’s landfill disposal area will be constructed with a double liner system. Double liner system designs can vary, but typically, the double liner system consists of two layers of clay or geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) and a geomembrane over each clay component. The geomembrane will be made of 60 mil thick high-density polyethylene. Each liner system provides two low-permeability layers as protection from the above waste and leachate. The bottom liner system is generally separated from the top liner system with a drainage layer capable of collecting and transmitting any unlikely leakage through the top liner system. Above the top liner system is a drainage layer used to collect any water that enters the fill area (called leachate) whether from the waste deposited or rainwater infiltration. The leachate drainage system includes gravel and piping sloping to the low point of each landfill cell to help facilitate leachate collection and pumping to temporary storage tanks. The leachate in the tanks is emptied into tanker trucks that transport the leachate to a wastewater treatment facility.

Final Cover

A final cover will be installed over the disposal units upon receipt of the final waste in a disposal area. This final cover system must be permitted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and will be designed to inhibit landfill gas migration, minimize stormwater infiltration, support plant growth, and allow for long-term stabilization of the disposal unit that will minimize maintenance requirements. The final cover, or “cap,” is similar to the liner below the waste, and consists of a layer of compacted soil, a methane gas collection layer, a 40-mil-thick low-density polyethylene geomembrane, a drainage synthetic to wick away infiltration, and a 2-foot layer of soil to protect the membrane and to allow for vegetation to grow. The cap will dramatically reduce infiltration into the closed landfill and reduce leachate and landfill gas production over time.