Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that a new landfill in Oak Ridge, Tennessee would cost $817 million.
• The DOE anticipates that shipping the waste elsewhere would cost up to 3 times the cost of building the new landfill.
• ​Due to those figures, the department has proposed building a landfill on a 92 acre site by the current location; if the plan moves forward, construction will start in mid-2017.

Dive Insight:

The current landfill is expected to reach capacity by 2020. The alternative option, which is not being actively pursued, includes shipping waste off-site to create additional space. This is not considered feasible and might not comply with environmental laws.