Facility: Closed, Subtitle D Landfill
Location: Milan, Illinois
Owner/Operator: Republic Services
System: Leachate Phyto-Utilization™ with Hybrid Poplar ETCap®
Installation Year: 2015
Design: Rows of hybrid poplar and willow trees over 4 acres
The Quad Cities system was the first Phyto-Utilization™ system installed on a closed, Subtitle D landfill, and represents another successful project. Since operation began, the system has processed more than 11.5 million gallons of leachate. 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.
Trees Immediately After Planting
Tree Growth - 2019
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 hybrid poplar and willow trees. The trees 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.