ISWM Operations

ISWM Operations

Below is a narrative that will provide an overview of our operations at the ISWM Department. To follow along, you may want to download the facility map located under the ISWM Site Map link located on the left side of the department web page.

Landfill

The Bourne landfill, at its present location on MacArthur Boulevard, began in 1967 in an area which is now known as Phases 1A, 1B, 1C, located immediately on the left as you drive into the facility.  This unlined area ceased accepting waste in 1999 and is now closed and capped. In addition to a cap, it also has a network of gas extraction wells that capture landfill gas that is then piped to a flare located in the northeast corner of the site.  The purpose of the flare is to burn landfill gas that might otherwise be vented into the atmosphere.  This serves to reduce air emissions, control odors, and prevent off-site migration.  All future capped areas will have a similar network.

Phase 2, the first lined landfill cell, began receiving non-MSW in 1999.  Located in the far northeast corner of the facility, Phase 2 has been capped and in no longer active.  As with Phase 2, and all future landfill cells, precipitation that falls on the landfill and trickles through the waste, otherwise known as leachate, is collected in special pipes under the waste and is pumped to holding tanks.  This liquid is then sent off-site for proper disposal.

Adjacent to Phase 2 is Phase 3 that is also a lined landfill cell like Phase 2, but it has additional layers of protection and a leak detection system.  All landfill cells since then have had this design called a “double composite liner”.  Bourne’s landfill was one of the first facilities in Massachusetts to install this state-of-the-art liner system.  Phase 3 has also been capped, along with a valley-fill called Phase 2A/3A which connected Phases 1A, 1B, 1C to Phase 2 and Phase 3.  It was in Phase 2A/3A that, beginning in 2005, ISWM started accepting municipal solid waste or household trash, once again.  This is also known as MSW.

Phase 4 is the area of located next to the scale and is located in the space previously occupied by Phase 1D.  Phase 1D was one of the original unlined areas of landfilling at the site dating back to the early 1970s.  Rather than cap it in place, ISWM worked with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop a plan to remove the waste and line the resulting void.  Phase 4 is broken into Stage 1 and Stage 2.  To the north of this area located on top of the old Phase 1A, 1B and 1C area is Phase 5.  Both Phase 4 and Phase 5 have been capped along the western side slope.  Currently, landfilling occurs in Phase 6 which is at the southern end of the landfill in an area previously occupied by the DPW office, which has been relocated off-site and the ISMW office. 

ISWM currently accepts approximately 85% of its allotted annual tonnage in the form of municipal waste combustor ash from the SEMASS waste-to-energy facility in Rochester, MA that is owned and operated by Covanta Energy.  The remaining waste consists of the Town’s own MSW, MSW from the Town of Falmouth, under a contract, and various other approved wastestreams from independent customers.

Recently, the Bourne Board of Health approved a site master plan that will allow continued landfilling at the site well into the late 2030s with Phase 7, Phase 8 and Phase 9.  Operations have begun in the recently permitted Phase 9, which is a vertical expansion over the existing phases, including Phase 6.  After these areas reach grade, operations will then progress southward with Phase 7 and then Phase 8.  Over time, structures located in these areas will be relocated to the southern end of the site onto land purchased by the Town in 2016. 

After the landfill closes it will be monitored and maintained for at least 30 years utilizing a pre-established post-closure fund required by DEP regulations.  ISWM also has an environmental pollution liability insurance policy with $5,000,000 of coverage.  To ensure compliance, Barnstable County personnel take quarterly groundwater, surface water and leachate samples. The test results are then submitted to both DEP and BOH.  Finally, ISWM staff regularly monitors landfill gas probes and the gas flare.

Other Operations

ISWM also operates residential recycling center located at the far end of the site on a 25-acre parcel that the Town acquired in 2001.  This area is open seven days per week in the summer. This is where residents manage their recyclable, bulky items, construction and demolition (C&D) material and organic materials. ISWM manages its compost operations in this area as well.

Just to the east of the recycling center is the single stream recyclables transfer station where ISWM consolidates loads of recyclables from residents and businesses which are then transferred to processing facilities in the region.

North of the residential recycling center is the C&D transfer station.  This is where contractors tip loads onto a concrete floor and ISMW operators reload those materials into larger trucks for transport to specialize processing facilities in the region.