The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders has adopted a bond ordinance that will provide funding for improvements at the Monmouth County Reclamation Center.
The reclamation center, which is located in Tinton Falls, accepts household waste and commercial waste from all 53 of the county’s municipalities, but it does not accept construction debris.
The facility has been a topic of discussion during 2019 as residents of Tinton Falls and neighboring communities have dealt with odors emanating from the landfill.
The bond ordinance was introduced during the freeholders’ June 13 meeting.
A public hearing was held during the freeholders’ July 11 meeting. No one from the public commented on the ordinance during the public hearing.
Freeholder Director Tom Arnone, Freeholder Lillian Burry, Freeholder Sue Kiley and Freeholder Gerry Scharfenberger voted to adopt the ordinance.
The ordinance appropriates $4.05 million for improvements at the reclamation center. All of the funding will be provided by the issuance of bonds, according to the ordinance.
The improvements will consist of renovations to the materials recovery processing facility building; improvements to the leachate plant; the installation of wells; the installation of odor control systems; the installation of environmental high density polyethylene caps; a gas to energy phaseout; and the acquisition of equipment.
Arnone provides a weekly update to county residents regarding the freeholders’ activities and in his July 8 newsletter he wrote, “I want to update everyone on our efforts to eliminate the odors being emitted at the reclamation center.
“All landfilling operations in Area 4 of Phase 3 have been completed. As a result, the active area of the landfill is now fully moved to a location that is farther away from Shafto Road. This area is better protected from wind and precipitation, which will further reduce any odors.
“Additionally, a more durable weather resistant material is being used on the landfill that will further contain odors and liquids produced. Two Neutralene vapor systems have been converted to solar power, which will require less maintenance and power usage. Also, the Neutralene used in the vapor system has been diluted by 50% to minimize the fragrance emitted.
“I am also pleased to say there have been minimal odor complaints to the Monmouth County Health Department or the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) since the beginning of June.
“Moreover, I am pleased to announce that the contractor for the Landfill Gas Collection System (LGCS) has begun to weld pipe sections and staging the welded lengths per the engineered layout. An experienced LGCS operator reported to the reclamation center and will monitor and tune the newly installed system.
“I am happy to report the reclamation center had a successful site inspection from the DEP Solid Waste Enforcement unit with no reportable issues or problems,” Arnone wrote.
