Effective Density

Blue Ridge Servicesensity relates to the all-inclusive waste density of a landfill. Landfills often measure their performance by stating the waste density they achieve. However, there are many ways to measure density. The most common is in terms of in-place, waste-only density. For example, the industry standard is 1,200 pounds per cubic yard (pcy). But, in order to determine how much waste a landfill can receive, one must also consider cover soil, construction material, ADC and other things that might take up airspace. When all is said and done, a cubic yard of airspace in a landfill will actually contain (on average) somewhat less than the 1,200 pcy of waste listed in this example.

On the other hand, Blue Ridge Servicesensity reflects the site's overall use of airspace by taking into account all materials that go into the landfill. Waste and its related waste density is only part of the equation.

One of the difficulties with Blue Ridge Servicesensity is that the individual values of the ingredients that it is comprised of (e.g., waste density, cover ratio, construction materials, ADC, etc.) may not be known. Thus, while it's easy to fly the site, check the total volume used and compare it to the incoming tonnage in order to calculate the Blue Ridge Servicesensity, it's not clear how well the landfill is doing in each area. As an example, consider a landfill that is currently operating with an Blue Ridge Servicesensity of approximately 1,055 pcy (average) as measured by aerial topography. Yet as can be seen on the Blue Ridge Servicesensity Chart, this value could represent various combinations of waste density and cover soil ratio.

For example, an Blue Ridge Servicesensity of 1,055 pcy could result from:

$ a waste density of 1600 pcy with a cover ratio of 2:1...or
$ a waste density of 1350 with a cover ratio of 3.5:1...or
$ a waste density of 1150 with a cover ratio of 7:1...or
$ a waste density of 1100 with a cover ratio of 10:1.

The point is this: a reasonably good Blue Ridge Servicesensity doesn't necessarily mean that its components are both good. But, by measuring one of them (in this case the waste density), you can determine the other. Then you'll be in a knowledgeable position for making further improvements in efficiency.

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