White Oak landfill report highlights record tonnage, long-term capacity
At current activity levels, the White Oak landfill has about 20 years of capacity remaining.
Google Earth photo
An update on the White Oak Landfill presented to Haywood County commissioners by landfill operator Republic Services Oct. 6 shows substantial volumes of waste coming into the facility — mostly due to Hurricane Helene — but vigilant planning and maintenance is expected to extend the life of the landfill.
“We appreciate the relationship with these guys, because they are open to us,” said Commissioner Brandon Rogers, also a member of the county’s solid waste board. “I know that when I was elected [in 2016], like I said, there was a concern that the landfill wouldn’t last as long as we were projecting it to. Not only are we meeting those goals, but I think we are exceeding them.”
The White Oak Landfill has operated under a public-private partnership for more than a decade, evolving through successive cell expansions. Each new phase involves complex planning, engineering and environmental permitting. As the facility approaches the halfway point of its permitted airspace, county leaders face decisions about how best to balance long-term waste management with environmental controls.
The annual report details operations from July 1, 2024, through June 30. During that time, the landfill accepted 88,019 tons of waste from Haywood County and 138,004 tons from outside the county. Out-of-county waste makes up more than 60% of all volume processed at the facility and helps to subsidize disposal costs for Haywood residents.
Another 13,554 tons of material was recovered and diverted from disposal.
The report notes that disaster debris from Helene contributed significantly to the totals, roughly 63,100 tons included in the combined annual weight of 212,468 tons.
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Financially, the landfill continues to generate royalties for the county under its contract with Waste Management.
The first quarter of the fiscal year, July through September, brought in $43,758. Helene totals are apparent with revenue during the second and third quarters — October through March 2025 — topping $71,000 each quarter. Revenues returned to somewhat normal levels, about $54,000, in the final quarter.
Since the contract began, Haywood County has received more than $1.39 million in total royalties.
Beyond immediate revenues, the report shows a long-term strategy for preserving the landfill’s viability. Initially, the total projected permitted airspace across seven “phases” of the landfill was nearly 9.4 million cubic yards. As of May 2025, the remaining projected permitted airspace across those seven phases is estimated at 5.4 million cubic yards, giving the entire site a remaining life expectancy of 19.8 years at a rate of 1,238 pounds per cubic yard.
Phase 5B, the current operating cell, was completed in July 2023 and covers 3.2 acres with 753,803 cubic yards of remaining airspace. The estimated remaining life of this particular section of the landfill runs through November 2026.
Phase 6A, the next cell, will be double the size at 6.4 acres and add 848,543 cubic yards of constructed airspace, extending capacity by about three years once completed near the end of 2026.
According to the report, Republic Services has budgeted for significant capital investments to make that expansion possible.
Construction of Phase 6A during the third and fourth quarters of 2025 is projected at $2.8 million, followed by another $2.2 million in the first half of 2026 to continue work. Gas system construction for the second and third quarters of 2026 adds another $225,000.
Republic also presented conceptual drawings for the gas collection and control system, which is designed to manage emissions and comply with environmental regulations.
”On the gas system, we spoke with the solid waste board the other week. So far, the early returns are exceeding our expectations in both flow and quality of the gas,” said Republic Services General Manager Steve Slater. “It is very viable for a landfill gas-to-energy project. It’s in its infancy, we’re really just getting it going.”
County officials have frequently cited the landfill as a key piece of infrastructure for local and regional solid waste management but have less frequently mentioned the financial benefits to county residents.
“I also want the public to know by allowing Republic to run that landfill for us, it’s saving taxpayer dollars — a lot of dollars every year,” Rogers said. “These guys are spending a lot of money on equipment and fixing these cells. It’s much appreciated, and I think the public doesn’t know how much money that they’re being saved.”
Chair Kevin Ensley said that when the partnership was initiated back in 2011, the county had projected around $2 million a year in savings. Now, Ensley said, that adds up to roughly $28 million in savings over the life of the deal to date.
