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Officials from the Mercer County Solid Waste Authority (SWA) hosted a field trip by Bluefield State College students to the Mercer County Sanitary Landfill recently, during which students saw actual applications of classroom theory.
Jerry Haynes, manager/Mercer County SWA, and Mike Shannon, Mercer County Sanitary Landfill operations engineer, directed the tour for students in Prof. Alvin Lester's "Solid Waste Management" class, detailing a variety of solid waste disposal methods utilized at the landfill. Haynes noted that the Mercer County facility housed the first lined-cell ever built at a public landfill in West Virginia. "Mercer County," he added, "is one of only nine counties in West Virginia with a solid waste landfill."
The visit marked the third year in which BSC engineering technology students have toured the landfill. "Professor Lester and I share the belief that students benefit when they see 'real world' applications for principles they've studied in the classroom," Haynes stated.
The Mercer County Sanitary Landfill is the first in West Virginia with an approved, permitted composting pad. "By utilizing composting technology, we could extend the life of a cell (a contained, fixed volume and air space landfill subsite that holds acceptable solid waste) from three years to approximately 20 years," he noted.
The Mercer County Solid Waste Authority also works regularly with BSC's Center for International Understanding (CIU), during which government and industry leaders from foreign countries visit sites in this region during customized training sessions organized by the CIU.
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