Landfill operators across the country continue to pursue expansion plans and monitor complex post-closure requirements.
This month, Casella Waste Systems received a permit to expand one of its New York landfills, while it announced another Northeast landfill will close earlier than expected.
Meanwhile, a California audit said health regulators could have responded more promptly to health concerns from residents near the embattled Chiquita Canyon Landfill. Residents near a different Waste Connections landfill in the state are suing over odor issues.
And in Ohio, one landfill is managing post-closure monitoring, while others are installing new solar panels on site.
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Casella secures key permit for New York C&D landfill expansion
Casella has received an expansion permit for its Hakes C&D Landfill in Campbell, New York. Casella plans to add about 43.3 acres of disposal area with about 5.8 million cubic yards of additional disposal capacity.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued the permit Sept. 22. The Hakes landfill is currently permitted to accept up to 466,000 tons per year of C&D material. The expansion could add about 20 years of capacity at current run rates, said CEO Ned Coletta in a statement.
Casella had been pursuing an expansion to counteract landfill capacity constraints caused in part by the planned closure of the Ontario County Landfill in New York, expected by the end of 2028. Casella operates this landfill under a contract.
“Reliable C&D disposal capacity is a critical component of New York State’s solid waste infrastructure, and we take pride in providing service that we believe supports the opportunity for broader regional economic growth,” Coletta said in a statement. “This expansion positions us to serve that demand while preserving valuable capacity across our municipal solid waste landfill network.”
The expansion will also allow Casella to relocate and construct new infrastructure on site, including a leachate transfer and storage area and additional gas collection and treatment systems, the company said. It is also expected to add another 21.7 acres to the site’s existing soil borrow area, which operators use to excavate soil for construction and operation purposes, Casella said.
Casella is also hoping to receive a permit to expand another New York site, its Hyland Landfill, sometime in early 2027, executives noted during a May earnings call.
California state auditor finds ‘shortcomings’ in health officials’ Chiquita Canyon response
A California state audit report published on Tuesday says Los Angeles County health officials did not adequately respond to residents who reported health and air quality issues while living near the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.
The Chiquita Canyon landfill, operated by Waste Connections, closed in 2025 after facing years of regulatory and legal pressure. Nearby residents had filed complaints about odors, which they said caused headaches, nausea and breathing issues. Those complaints became more frequent due in part to an elevated temperature issue that residents said worsened landfill gas emissions and odors.
The report says the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s oversight of the Chiquita Canyon landfill had some “shortcomings.” It noted that the agency did not promptly collect or review air quality information and did not always communicate with the public “about specific levels of chemicals in the air.”
LADPH also did not keep up-to-date information about residents’ health, and “as a result, LADPH does not have a complete or current understanding of residents’ symptoms,” it said.
The audit also found LADPH did not advocate promptly for relocation assistance for residents, noting that the agency waited until May 2025 to direct Chiquita’s operators to offer relocation assistance, which the audit says was two years into the health response.
LADPH has disagreed with many of the claims in the audit, but auditors said the agency has agreed to implement changes related to recommendations in the report.
Auditors recommended the agency adopt more formalized policies and procedures related to health hazard events and more routinely provide the public with information about air quality and other health impacts, among other recommendations.
Other landfill news
- Casella Waste Systems says it is closing its North Country Environmental Services Landfill in Bethlehem, New Hampshire, by Dec. 31. That’s a year earlier than previously planned. Casella moved up the closure date after “an evaluation of the remaining permitted airspace, current and projected fill rates, and other operational factors,” it said in securities filings.
- Residents of Avenal, California, have filed a lawsuit against Waste Connections and subsidiary Madera Disposal Systems over alleged environmental and health issues from its Avenal Regional Landfill. Residents allege a subsurface reaction at the 173-acre MSW landfill has caused noxious odors and toxic gases to waft into the community, causing headaches, nosebleeds, respiratory issues and other health problems. (Your Central Valley Today)
- Two closed landfills in the Cleveland area will become sites for solar arrays. The $20 million project will be partially funded by a U.S. EPA grant. Some of the generated power will power operations at the nearby Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. (Cleveland 19)
- The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency says a closed landfill in Goshen Township exceeded allowable nitrogen and ammonia emissions in August. Operators of the County Land Development Landfill, a subsidiary of Republic Services, told local station 21 News that the site “follows rigorous environmental requirements” and works closely with state agencies on possible corrective actions. (News 21)
