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CE Club July 2016 Update

Municipal Solid Waste with Parkhill, Smith, & Cooper, INC.

Frank Pugsley of Parkhill, Smith, & Cooper (PSC) spoke to the CE Club about how he uses his civil engineering degree from Texas Tech University within the field of municipal solid waste. As a practical example, he showed the students pictures and diagrams of the McCommas Bluff landfill in south Dallas. Students were shown statistics that broke down the content of the municipal solid waste that goes into landfills, and how over 60% of the waste is readily degradable organic material such as paper and food. One of the more impressive stats that the students appreciated was that the per capita waste generation is actually going down in Texas; showing that recycling and conservation efforts are actually have a positive impact on our waste production. 

Frank then explained the waste management cycle, which is both a public and engineering responsibility. Transfer stations receive solid waste from neighborhood pick-up routes and drop-offs by the general public. Semi-trucks then take the trash to a landfill where it is dumped and compacted. Frank also explained how engineers design landfills and must incorporate multiple sub-disciplines of civil engineering, which includes grading, drainage, utilities, support structures, and environmental monitoring.

Finally, Frank went into more detail about leachate, the “trash juice” that must be drained from landfills, and land fill gas. The students were especially interested in how the gas produced from the decomposition or organic matter must be collected and then either burned off or used as a fuel to generate electricity. Overall, the students were extremely impressed by the amount of engineering that goes into something as simple as the trash they put out on the curb every week!