Cost-Effective Landfill Closure: Boston's “Menino Project”

Abstract

The city of Boston owns a 40-ha (98-acre) site that contains a 34-ha (85-acre) landfill along the banks of the scenic Charles River. Faced with a multimillion dollar state-mandated closure, the city decided that it wanted to utilize this significant piece of real estate (which is bigger than the Boston Gardens and Common combined) for a postclosure use. The mayor's office, Department of Public Works and Parks, Community Advisory Committee, and a consultant developed a postclosure master plan for the site that included landfill closure and constructing a public park on the capped landfill. The total project was initially estimated at >$20,000,000. The city realized early that, to move this ambitious project forward, it would need to be creative in funding. Therefore, during the planning stage, areas were identified for potential cost savings: modification of state closure standards, substituting/manufacturing a portion of the required landfill cap, and utilizing creative/alternative funding sources. Implementing these ideas resulted in significant cost savings.