Facility: Closed Landfill
Location: Biloxi, Mississippi
Owner/Operator: Republic Services
System: Leachate Phyto-Utilization™ with Vetiver Grass
Installation Year: 2011
Design: Rows of vetiver plants over 3 acres
As the first-of-its kind project in the USA, the Gulf Pines system has successfully operated since 2011, processing more than 9.7 million gallons. The system won a National Engineering Excellence "Grand Award" for First Place in its category at the American Academy of Environmental Engineers 2012 National Banquet in Washington, DC. As stated in a 2012 article written in the MSW Management magazine, the award was based on "originality, innovation, complexity, project quality, client satisfaction, contribution to social and economic advancement, and an integrated approach to better protect the environment." The system has reduced the facility’s carbon footprint by sequestering CO2 and avoiding tanker truck emissions, as well as created significant long-term savings for the facility and habitat for wildlife.
Our Phyto-Utilization™ systems use fast-growing and non-invasive plants to consume liquid waste in a GREEN and sustainable way in order to greatly reduce or eliminate the need for other, more costly disposal methods. The systems are engineered to pump leachate from a pond or tank through a fully automated pre-treatment and distribution process and up to a field to irrigate the rows of vetiver. Vetiver plants then utilize the leachate, normally considered waste, as a resource by absorbing the needed moisture and contaminants, which act as micro and macro nutrients to fuel plant growth.