 |
|
El Sobrante Landfill is a Class 3 regional disposal facility permitted to accept up to 10,000 tons per day, seven days per week. It employs approximately 40 full-time employees. Landfill operations are overseen by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health.
|
|
|
 |
 |
Recently the Riverside Press Enterprise happened to catch us leading a field trip of 31 Corona High School students visiting El Sobrante for their physics and advanced placement environmental science classes. The teens, along with their teachers, were visiting to learn how the landfill captures methane gas to generate electricity; to tour our Wildlife Habitat Preserve with a biologist; and to see the disposal site where trucks compact garbage. As an extra bonus, they got a demonstration from the landfill's resident falconer, who trains birds to shoo away pesky seagulls that circle the trash heaps. Press Enterprise reporter Mary Bender tells the story:
“As the school bus rumbled down the rutted dirt road, De Frates told the visitors the landfill doesn't smell bad. ‘We smell pretty,’ he said.
“Students as young as third-graders come to El Sobrante for field trips, and De Frates tailors his message accordingly. ‘If you don't do a good job of recycling, you'll just fill up the landfill that much faster,’ he tells them.
“On a plateau, the Corona High students gathered around one of the landfill's methane gas collection wells. ‘As waste decomposes, it generates methane,’ De Frates explained. There are 162 methane wells at El Sobrante now; when it is complete, the landfill will have more than 300, said Nicholas Godfrey, an environmental protection supervisor for Waste Management. The methane gas is used in El Sobrante's power plant to generate electricity. ‘We power about 6,000 homes,’ Godfrey told the high school students.
“‘We'll continue extracting (methane) gas at this site for 100 years,’ De Frates added.
"It's this sort of modern technology that drew
De Frates to landfill work. Gone are the days when trash was dumped without concern for environmental contamination of groundwater, or its effect on native plant and animal habitats – much less taking discards and producing a vital energy source.
Following the tour, the students were grateful for Damon’s insight – and at least a little bit smarter about environmental and landfill issues. Said senior Alexis Hradisky: " I felt better knowing that we did have a preserve there to protect the endangered species and the waterways."
< BACK TO HOME
|
|
|
|
