Last month we discussed the cost and design of golf and sports barrier netting. We would now like to take a few minutes to discuss landfill netting and what is involved in building, engineering, and designing a landfill (or litter retention) barrier netting.

The major difference between landfill barrier netting and golf and sports netting is, the wind solid on a golf barrier remains constant (6 to 10%) as opposed to a 10 to 100 percent on a landfill barrier. So, although, the landfill barrier will be similar to other barriers, the litter retention barrier wind solid can change dramatically as litter accumulates on the netting. What has to be determined by the customer is not only the local wind speed required but also what is the MAXIMUM load that the customer anticipates the barrier will be loaded.

This is imperative because if for instance the job is designed at 50% solid (meaning the fence will accumulate up to 50% in the litter) on the barrier it has to be designed for 50%. If the load exceeds that and the wind prevailed against it, the poles will break or bend. (See competitors pictures attached).

As you can see from the attached pictures of some of our competitors’ work, these poles will fail very quickly if they are loaded up too heavily or under designed.

At Judge Netting, we are proud to have built litter retention barriers up to 100% solid at Central Maui for their landfill. This is also at 110 miles per hour. As you might imagine this barrier can be quite expensive with significant foundation as 24-inch steel pipe is utilized for this particular project.

Judge Netting has been erecting litter retention barriers at landfill and industrial sites since 1999 and we have never had a failure. We are proud of our record and also proud of our workmanship on these barriers. As you can see from the pictures, we take meticulous pride in our work with all poles engineered and installed plumb. You may also notice that landfill barriers typically have outrigger arms at the top of the poles. The purpose for this is to keep litter from walking up the side of the barrier when wind prevails for a protracted period of time. This actually happens, and therefore, the outrigger arms are a good idea in order to prevent that from happening. The outrigger arms also indicate to local authorities that something is being done about litter escaping the premises. We have one customer that was spending over $85,000 a year picking litter out of a wetlands area adjacent to their landfill.  

Their litter barrier saved them significant money and paid for itself in two years. The barrier also indicated to local regulatory authorities that they were serious about addressing their litter retention problems. In conclusion, a well-engineered and professionally constructed litter retention barrier will help reduce operating cost, placate local government and regulatory authorities, and improve the appearance of your landfill.

Next month we will discuss dust and wind reduction barriers.