Innovative Technology, Team Expertise Contribute to Savings for Solid Waste Member Cities
by Mike Friesen
Assistant Deputy, Solid Waste
When our 121 Regional Disposal Facility opened in 2004, the landfill was estimated to have a 40-year lifespan. It’s been 20 years since the landfill went into operation, and we still have 40 years of life left.
The facility serves our five Solid Waste Member Cities—Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano and Richardson—and is open to the public from surrounding areas for refuse disposal. The landfill processes and disposes of over one million tons of solid waste safely and reliably each year while protecting the environment and water quality, providing an essential service for nearly one million North Texans.
Our team at the landfill has extended the facility’s lifespan by increasing our compaction rates—the measure of how well we compact trash, calculated in pounds per cubic yard. Compaction has always been a priority since day one, with the philosophy of continual improvement.
Starting in 2021, we implemented systemwide operational changes and new technologies at the landfill to further improve our compaction rates. The results began to show in 2022 when compaction increased by 13 percent year-over-year. In 2023, compaction increased again by 29 percent, and in 2024, it increased an additional 15 percent.
The positive change from 2021 to 2024 effectively extended the landfill's lifespan by 12 years, assuming the tonnage received at the facility continues to increase at 3.5 percent each year, and the compaction rate is maintained.
The combination of team expertise and innovative technology has helped us make these improvements. It all starts with our landfill operators—they’ve trained to focus on key metrics to improve our operational practices. They implemented new techniques to reduce soil usage in the landfill, including reducing the working face size and improving waste processing methods.
To monitor the efficiency of our daily compaction activities, we’re leveraging GPS technology that can measure the elevation of the landfill's working face to a tenth of an inch. Every day, our operators use bulldozers and compactors to process and compact solid waste that’s been delivered to the landfill. They have access to a GPS monitor in their machine's cab that provides them with real-time, color-coded data showing the current compaction level.
When the surface they’re working on turns green, they know the compaction has reached the optimal level. Previously, they would have just been making a visual estimate. We can now measure the compaction rate in real time with high accuracy. Our operators are highly skilled in using this technology. They love to compete daily to see who has achieved the best compaction rate.
Better compaction rates mean real savings for our Solid Waste Member Cities. The longer we can conserve space in the landfill, the longer we can delay the cost of building a new landfill.
In addition to our focus on compaction rates, we pursue stewardship across our solid waste system. Another key effort has focused on managing our fleet, including transport tractor trailers and heavy machinery. Through the application of our fleet management software, we can track and control our maintenance costs. This technology has lowered our costs year-over-year and increased our equipment reliability.
Our team is dedicated to making the landfill a “best in class” facility for our Member Cities and the nearly one million people we serve. We’ll continue to pursue stewardship across our operations in service of this goal.