10/01/2026
In the creative reuse world, all of us who run a creative reuse shop/center pretty much talk daily about “keeping creative materials out of the landfill” to anyone who asks, “What’s this all about?” But how many of us have actually been to a landfill? Last week I got the rare opportunity to take a guided public tour of the NTMWD 121 Regional Disposal Facility in Melissa,TX, the landfill that houses the trash for Richardson, Plano and several other cities (the free tour was hosted by Official City Of Plano ). And my biggest takeaway? Everyone should tour their community’s landfill (it should be a required field trip for every high school student!) as everyone needs to see up front the reality/inner workings of a daily process that we’re all a part of, and have an impact on.
Some fun facts:
-Landfills have been regulated since the ‘70s by environmental laws that strive to keep the ground water and surrounding air safe (the multi-layer liner this one has is impressive)
-Continual improvements in technology and equipment help to increase the amount of materials that can be crushed/packed into each landfill sector
-This landfill has a compost producing section (where large amounts of food scraps and yard waste are dumped) AND the landfill extracts/processes the methane gas created by decomposing trash, contributing to the natural gas grid and powering 20-25,000 homes per year
-Landfills are vast (this one is 673 acres); they take more than 15 years to get up and going, from land purchase to permitting to creating…and…
-this one will be full in 40 years. When it does fill, it is expected to be the tallest structure in Collin County, i.e. a big grassy mountain where you can stand on top and likely see downtown Dallas on a clear day…
(For more, read this whole post at the Untrash blog, www.Untrash.blog or click on the link in my Instagram profile.)
Video 1: Trucks tip trash into the landfill; the big semis pull up to a mechanical “tipper”.
Video 2: note the tires on the machine in the middle — after the trash is dropped off, this drives back and forth over the piles using its nubby tires to crush and compact the trash
