Landfill airspace savings start with smarter waste processing.
At Eastern Laramie County Solid Waste Disposal District in Burns, Wyoming, the team set out to make every cubic yard count. They discovered that compaction alone wasn’t enough. Bulky materials were still creating problems within the landfill.
By applying Smart Landfilling, the site transformed how they manage waste and achieved an impressive 60% airspace savings. Smart Landfilling is a modern landfill operating concept that combines waste shredding, compaction, and material diversion. Landfills that use Smart Landfilling have reported 25–45% additional compaction, resulting in major airspace savings and extended landfill lifespan.
For Mike Ragsdale, Landfill Manager, seeing the impact firsthand changed his perspective on what was possible.
“It didn’t convince me that it would make that much difference until we started shredding,” he says.