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Waste Policy Forum
Municipal Solid Waste
Landfills & Transfer Stations
Transfer Stations
Modern landfills are well-engineered facilities that are located, designed, operated, and monitored to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Solid waste landfills must be designed to protect the environment from contaminants. The landfill site plans (which prevents the placement of landfills in environmentally-sensitive areas) and on-site environmental monitoring systems (which monitor for any sign of groundwater contamination and for landfill gas) provide additional safeguards. In addition, many new landfills collect potentially harmful landfill gas emissions and convert the gas into energy.
Waste transfer stations are facilities where municipal solid waste is unloaded from collection vehicles and reloaded onto larger long-distance transport vehicles for shipment to landfills, other treatment, or disposal facilities. By combining the loads of several individual waste collection trucks into a single shipment, communities can save money on labor and operating costs of transporting the waste. They can also reduce the number of trips traveling to and from the disposal site.
View links and publications on landfills and transfer stations by topic.
On this page:
- General Resources
- Grants/ Funding
- Resources for Citizens
- Resources for Decision Makers
- State Programs
General Resources
Landfills
Provides information on U.S. landfills regulations, bioreactors, groundwater monitoring, closure/post-closure and financial assurance.
EPA Solid Waste Landfill Publications
Provides links to reports, fact sheets, guidance documents, and memos pertaining to the operation and management of municipal solid waste landfills.
Transfer Stations
Provides background information on transfer stations including publications on regulations, how citizens can make a difference, and for decision-making.
Grants / Funding
North American Development Bank: Solid Waste Environmental Program 
Supports the financing and construction of sustainable solid waste infrastructure projects.
Resources for Citizens
Waste Transfer Stations: Involved Citizens Make the Difference (PDF) (28 pp, 210 K, About PDF)
Provides information on what role transfer stations play in the community, how they might impact the community, and how you as a concerned citizen can participate in the decisions concerning their location and operation.
Resources for Decision Makers
Waste Transfer Stations: A Manual for Decision-Making (PDF) (66 pp, 648K, About PDF)
Defines what a transfer station is and how it relates to municipal solid waste management in the context of a community's total waste management plan. The manual identifies issues and factors to consider when deciding to build a transfer station, planning and designing it, selecting a site, and involving the community.
Pay-As-You-Throw
This EPA web resource helps local communities consider, design, and implement pay-as-you-throw programs. Included is information about unit pricing and ideas on reducing waste and recycling MSW.
State Programs
All links in this section exit EPA.
California
California Integrated Waste Management Board
CIWMB: Landfills and Other Solid Waste Facilities
Learn about California's landfill and other solid waste facilities program.
California Waste Stream Profiles: Counties
Texas
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Where to Find Resources on Managing Municipal Solid Waste
Includes topics such as planning and funding for MSW, battling illegal dumping, providing collection services, increasing public awareness and education, promoting cleanup and proper disposal of MSW, understanding environmental crime, and getting assistance from TCEQ.
TCEQ Guide for Preparing Site Operating Plans for Municipal Solid Waste Facilities
Assists municipal solid waste facilities with preparing a new or revised Site Operating Plan.
TCEQ Guide for Preparing a Surface Water Drainage Plan for a Municipal Solid Waste Facility
Gives information on preparing a surface water drainage plan for those who operate or apply to operate Type I and Type IV municipal solid waste facilities in Texas.
TCEQ Municipal Solid Waste Reporting and Disposal Fee
Municipal Solid Waste in Texas: A Year in Review, 2006 Data Summary and Analysis (PDF)(37 pp, 656K)
Municipal Solid Waste in Texas: A Year in Review, 2007 Data Summary and Analysis (PDF)(37 pp, 997K)
Managing Municipal Solid Waste through General and Special Law Districts
Provides background on options available for certain districts to provide municipal solid waste services to customers.
New Mexico
New Mexico Environment Department Border Program
Bordering New Mexico: Solid Waste
Learn about how solid waste is managed in the New Mexico border region.
Arizona
Arizona Department Environmental Quality
GIS eMaps
View an Arizona map of the locations of municipal landfills. (Interactive GIS eMaps)
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