History of the Site - Use as a Quarry and a Landfill

History of the Site - Use as a Quarry and a Landfill. . Glenridge Quarry Naturalization Site , Niagara Region , History of the Site - Use as a Quarry and a Landfill , This site was once a limestone quarry and operated between 1957 and 1972 to meet the demand for stone in Niagara. The Glenridge Quarry was acquired by the City of St. Catharines in 1975 and converted into a landfill site. During its 25-year history as a landfill the site received more than 1.5 million tonnes of municipal solid waste. , , Did You Know? 95 per cent of the quarry's total output was used for building projects within the Niagara Peninsula. Typical output for the plant was nearly 2,000 tonnes of crushed stone per day. , , Use as a Quarry , The Toughest Rock in Niagara: limestone cut from this quarry was considered to be the hardest and toughest in Niagara Region. Processing the stone required powerful equipment. A percussion drill was used to make holes in the rock face and then explosives were placed in the holes for the first blast. The explosives were set off in quick succession to crush up to 9,000 tonnes of rock at one time. , , After blasting, the rock was loaded and hauled to the primary crusher. The rock was dumped into a feeder that would break most pieces to a diameter of 200 mm or smaller. The broken stones would then be loaded into a vibrating feeder that led to a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt passed the stones over a series of screens that would allow different sizes to fall into different bins. Any stone that needed to be reduced to an even smaller size would continue on the conveyor belt into a "reduction crusher". , , Helping Niagara Grow: Primary uses for the stone included road and housing construction. The quarry also provided large blocks of hard-formed limestone that were used to combat land erosion along Lake Ontario. Some of the stone was also crushed to a fine texture for local farmers to help reduce the level of acidity in the soil and produce healthier crops. , , Use as a Landfill , The First of its Kind: Waste disposal operations commenced in 1976. The original site plan included 32 hectors disposal area and 12.6 hectare for visual buffer. The landfill was one of the first sites in Ontario to use a clay liner, stormwater management system and leachate [leachate is contaminated water] collection system. , , Landfilling took place in "cells". Each cell consisted of 1.5 m thick compacted clay liners constructed on the bedrock surface of the quarry floor. A network of perforated plastic drainage pipes was installed as a drainage layer and placed on top of the clay liner of each cell. Leachate is collected by the perforated plastic drainage pipes and drains by gravity to a main sewer that is connected to the municipal sanitary sewer system. This system conveys the leachate to a Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment. , , Reduce, Reuse and Recycle: Not only did Glenridge Quarry function as a landfill, but also as one of the first recycling facilities in Ontario. This recycling facility predated the Blue Box curbside program that exists today. The facility was located where the Children's Science and Nature Area stands today. , , Site Improvements and Enhancements: A number of initiatives were undertaken to address public concerns about the site. These initiatives included improving landfilling practices, carrying out investigations of potential off-site impacts, limiting the approved waste disposal fill area and undertaking capital improvements. One capital improvement project was the Groundwater Collection Trench. This perforated pipe, installed in a trench cut into the quarry floor, acts as a contingency collection system to intercept groundwater in the event that contaminants migrate through the clay liner. , , Another initiative was the preparation of the End Use Master Plan in 1997 and 1998, which detailed how the site was to be rehabilitated. Based on this plan, this naturalization site was created. , ,