Neighbor to Neighbor – Management is Committed to Keeping You Informed Neighbor Volume 10, Number 2 September/October 2011 News from ’s Austin Community Landfill

Dear Neighbors Despite our attempts to keep motorbikes out of the Wildlife We hope you enjoyed your summer Habitat Park by posting “No Motorized Vehicles Allowed” signs, and found ways to keep cool. School motorbikes continue to illegally ride on our property. In addi - is back in session, so please remember tion, we have experienced vandalism, so we have temporarily to drive carefully around schools and closed the hiking trail. neighborhoods. All entrances to the park have been blocked to Byron Turner, We will be adding new gas wells in the prevent any vehicles Landfill Manager western portion of the landfill. The gas from entering. collection system is designed to collect the methane gas cre - ated by the decomposi - We will work with the tion of waste and then Wildlife Habitat Park deliver it to the gas-to- Committee to consider energy plant where the options for re-opening the park. In the mean - landfill gas is converted Wildlife Habitat Park kiosk and bench to green energy. time, if you have a group that wants to tour the park for bird watching, hiking or other We are also constructing outdoor activities, just contact me and we will gladly accom - two stormwater runoff modate your group. ponds in the Northwest section of the landfill. Open House We host our last Open House of the year on Thursday, Wildlife Habitat Park Construction of stormwater runoff ponds September 29 at 5 p.m. in the second floor conference room We have submitted of the Waste Management Hauling Company building at updated information and reports to the Wildlife Habitat Council 9708 Giles Road. Please come by if you have any questions to re-certify the Wildlife Habitat Park. This includes our long- about the landfill and our projects. range plans for the continued development of the park to protect wildlife. Byron Turner, Landfill Manager University of Michigan and Geosyntec Consultants Use Austin Community Landfill as Research Lab Waste Management This summer, the Austin Community Landfill served a research testing lab, providing Open House instrumental data that will be used to study the impact of seismic activity on Municipal Thursday, September 29 Solid Waste (MSW) landfills, quite timely given the recent Virginia earthquake. Professor Dimitrios Zekkos and graduate student, Andhika Sahadewa, of the University of Michigan 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. (UM) visited the Austin Community Landfill for three weeks this past summer to conduct Waste Management dynamic testing of MSW. Hauling Company Building This testing involved the deployment of the Tri-axial mobile shaker (T-Rex), operated by the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation at the University 2nd floor conference room of (UT). cont’d on back

Our Door is Open Waste Management is committed to We can arrange for a tour of the landfill for Just give us a call - 512-272-9387. the community and maintains an you or any interested organization. And we’re open-door policy. always eager to answer your questions. http://austincommunitylandfill.wm.com Waste Management Austin Community Landfill 9900 Giles Road Austin, TX 78754

Holiday Hours & Christmas Tree The Austin Community Landfill will be closed: Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 24

Christmas Tree Recycling: Monday, December 26 – Saturday, January 7

News from Waste Management’s Austin Community Landfill September/October 2011

cont’d from front The testing provided an unprecedented opportu - nity to simultaneously evaluate in situ the linear and nonlinear dynamic properties of MSW. The data from this study will be used in future tests next summer in California to streamline and improve methods for seismic design of landfills. Tri-axial mobile shaker (T-Rex) Students prepare site for research study

Thank you Travis Audubon Society! From left, Waste Management Landfill Manager Byron Turner, with Ashley Kegley (far right), presents a check to Travis Audubon Society Executive Director Nancy Manning and President Valarie Bristol to thank the organization for its help with annual bird counts and other activities at the Waste Management Wildlife Habitat Park.

IN THE COMMUNITY Underwater Clean-Up City of Austin Reblended Paint Waste Management will provide lunch for Looking to get rid of extra paint? Austin the hundreds of volunteers who participate residents can drop off paint, at no charge, in Keep Austin Beautiful’s annual Lake at the City of Austin Household Hazardous Travis Underwater Clean-up on Sunday, Waste Facility. The used paints are blended to make off September 11. If you want to volunteer, white and beige Austin ReBlend paint that is free to resi - go to http://www.keepaustinbeautiful.org/Underwater dents.The facility is located at 2514 Business Center Drive.