Control litter and odor with a modular automated tarping system.
By Shannon Harrop
Spreading alternative daily cover (ADC) is typically reserved as a final task to close down the landfill workface each night. For value-conscious landfill operators who benefit from reusable ADC, such as fabric ADC tarps, the process is reversed in the morning to remove the tarps and open the workface for the day. By using a well-designed automated tarping system (ATS), covering and uncovering up to 12,000 square feet of workface with ADC tarps is a 15 to 20 minute daily exercise for one operator that will greatly extend the life of the landfill and significantly reduce daily cover expenses.
Many landfill operators already realize the benefits of their ATS for their morning and evening opening and closing routine. But what if that asset could be used just as effectively throughout the day for other tasks? Imagine, it would be like not only driving your truck to work in the morning and back home in the evening, but also using your truck to go get lunch at mid-day.
Rapid Response
With a maneuverable and properly-equipped ATS, the system can be used throughout the day for rapid deployment of tarps to quickly cover troublesome localized workface issues such as light, fluffy litter loads or particularly odorous loads. A single operator can quickly deploy a 30 ft. x 100 ft. tarp (or even 30 ft. x 50 ft tarp) to cover fluffy wind-blown loads to control litter flare-ups when wind gusts are expected. When tarps are properly equipped with steel cross-cables and chain ballast that are bolted together, the tarps are easily managed and quickly deployed even in windy conditions. No other cover solution can be deployed as rapidly and securely as a properly equipped ATS—and with only one operator—no matter the direction of the wind, whether sustained or gusting, straight-line or swirling. Most people do not associate tarps with being used in windy conditions, but when properly equipped with well-designed ballast, there is no better solution for cover material.
Controlling Odor
This rapid response drill can also be extended to control not only fluffy blowing litter loads, but also particularly odorous loads. We all know the trucks that bring in the stinkier loads on a given day. An odor control spray system optionally installed on your ATS or one of your ATS machines can preempt your surrounding neighbor’s calls. An odor control spray system provides a 30-foot spray boom operated by remote control from the cab of the host equipment to quickly spot and treat smelly loads after being deposited on the workface. The liquid odor neutralizing solution is stored in a large reservoir on the machine always ready for use. The solution can be intensified beyond just treating specific loads by continuously spraying the workface in the morning as cover tarps are being removed and by continuously spraying in the evening when covering the workface with tarps. Spraying in the morning when removing the tarps will provide an additional odor barrier as the workface is opened and begins to fill throughout the day. The odor neutralizer solution can be sprayed in the evening as tarps are spread to cover the odor for the night and allow more time for the odor neutralization process to occur.
Redundancy and Flexibility
A properly designed ATS will improve landfill workface operations by providing an efficient, cost-effective daily cover solution. Using multiple ATS in a modular approach can provide increased flexibility and redundancy to support larger landfill operations. Controlling the environment around the landfill is increasingly intensifying with residential growth and heightened environmental awareness. The maneuverability and versatility of the ATS will arm resourceful operators with a rapidly available solution to address daily workface issues including litter and odor control.
Shannon Harrop is Director of Product Management for Southwestern Sales Company (Rogers, AR). He can be reached via the tarpARMOR Customer Support Team at (800) 427-9368, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.tarpARMOR.com.