When you think of a landfill, you might think of a pile of trash or worse, the old fashioned dump. If you have toured one of Rumpke’s landfills, you know there’s much more to waste disposal these days.

Gone are the days when trash is openly burned or tossed in a hole. Today’s landfills cost as much as $500,000 an acre to construct and include a well-engineered, precise  liner system to protect the land below, water systems and the environment as a whole. Watch landfill videos.  

Today’s landfills have been converted into energy producers. The sites are cultivated into beautiful wetlands preserves. They have become a place for learning and a place for inspiration.

At Rumpke’s landfills in Georgetown, Ohio and Medora, Indiana, Rumpke has built large wetlands preserves filled with blooming lily pads, regional birds, beautiful butterflies and delicate plants. Find out about public tours by emailing tours@rumpke.com.

In northern Ohio at Rumpke’s Noble Road Landfill, just outside Mansfield, something similar is happening. The Fowler Woods State Nature Preserve neighbors the site.  It’s more than just a park, it’s a place to preserve and cherish nature and Rumpke gets in on the action, sending crews to the site to pick up litter and make certain this natural beauty is preserved.

Head south into Butler, Ky. and you’ll find a smaller landfill, but one that makes a big impact. Rumpke’s Pendleton County Landfill produces enough electricity for more than 1,000 Kentucky residents. When garbage decomposes methane gas is produced. That methane can be converted into useful energy, in this case electricity.

Rumpke opened its first landfill, Rumpke Sanitary Landfill, in 1945 in Colerain Township just outside Cincinnati. Today, this award-winning site serves more than 2 million residents and more than 20,000 businesses throughout Greater Cincinnati. This site which provides safe disposal for nearly 2 million tons of waste annually is a source for green energy. The Colerain Township landfill produces enough natural gas energy for up to 25,000 homes locally. Additionally, Rumpke powers 40 plus garbage trucks on compressed natural gas recovered from the site.

With so much going on at these sites, it’s not surprising that groups come from all around to see them first hand. From ages 4 to 94 nearly 10,000 people tour Rumpke sites annually. Learning about their waste, how it must be handled and about other options such as reuse and recycling, is not only educational, but it’s inspiring.

In today’s world, we have options. Sixty percent of our waste can be recycled and as Ohio’s recycling leader, Rumpke also boasts 11 recycling facilities, including one of North America’s largest, fastest and most technologically advanced facilities right here in Cincinnati:

In a perfect world, everything could be reused or recycled and although we are getting closer, there’s still a significant amount of trash that has to go somewhere. Rumpke is proud to own and operate some of the most environmentally safe facilities to handle our waste.

 About the author: Amanda Pratt is the director of communications at Rumpke.