Globe Miami Times Connecting you to the Pulse of Globe Miami
Gila County recently completed the first phase of a landfill expansion that has been in the works for more than a decade and will ultimately extend the life of the Russell Gulch facility through 2045.
Thanks to the efforts of the Public Works Department and the work of Deputy Director Melanie Mendez and her Gila County staff, the facility is on track to serve Southern Gila County residents through the next generation.
In the two years she has worked for the County, Mendez has also brought new life and a fresh sense of purpose to the facility. Hired originally in June 2022 to manage the landfill, Mendez quickly proved her worth to Public Works and in April, was promoted to her current position.
“Melanie is the expert and serves on at least one state board on landfill issues and with the Department of Environmental Quality,” Director of Public Works Homero Vela says. “They’ve sought her out for her expertise and the spark she has for taking care of trash the right way.”
A life devoted to trash
Mendez comes to Arizona after an exemplary career in Southern California, working her way up from a scale operator in San Bernardino County to implementing a recycling program for 279 businesses in Redlands, California.
Her work in Redlands also included implementing a zero-waste policy for the City and adhering to solid waste disposal mandates issued by the state.
To Mendez, managing the flow of waste from the public to the landfill is more than a job, it’s a lifelong passion. She knew from a young age it was what she wanted to do and has spent most of her life working in an industry most people take for granted.
“It was really embarrassing for my parents, but we were at church once when I was 13 and someone asked, ‘Melanie, what do you want to be when you grow up?’,” Mendez says “And I said, ‘I want to be a trash truck driver.’ It just looked like a lot of fun. You got to be outside, and back then they tossed the cans into the back of the trucks.”
After she landed her “dream job” at the San Bernardino scales, Mendez quickly worked her way into the office as a fiscal assistant, utilizing an accounting certificate she had previously earned.
From there she was promoted to an operations supervisor at the landfill before moving to her position in Redlands, where she worked on compliance issues and eventually as Recycling Coordinator.
Along the way, she filled her resumé with professional certificates, including a Manager of Landfill Operations (MOLO) from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), which she earned in 2014. MOLO is a body of knowledge of landfill operations that spans the project from conceptualization to construction to closing.
She came to Arizona for a change of scenery and because she wanted to “expand her expertise.”
“One of the things I love about Arizona is that we’re doing things because it’s the right thing to do,” Mendez says. “In the state of California, we had a lot of mandates and we had to meet those mandates. I got a lot of experience in doing those things, but here I’m just so pleasantly surprised that, especially over at the ADEQ, they’re doing it for the right reasons.”
Expansion delays and completion
Landfill expansion generally takes about 10 years, from establishing the site to actually putting garbage in it, according to Mendez, and along the way there are environmental studies and feasibility studies as well as groundwater monitoring that must take place.
The Russell Gulch expansion has been in the works since at least 2009 and suffered several recent setbacks in the wake of issues discovered with the water table and damage inflicted by the Telegraph Fire.
The Telegraph Fire in 2021 washed tons of debris into the landfill that had to be cleared and transported to Snowflake, work that was done thanks to $200,000 in emergency funding from the state.
“The state provided money after the Telegraph fire to many communities, and that was very helpful,” says Vela. “It allowed us to do things when they needed to be done.”
In the wake of that work, the two-part expansion continued to sit in limbo, thus Mendez “inherited” the project when she was hired.
“When I started in 2022 they said, ‘Congratulations on your job, the landfill’s filling up’,” Mendez says. “So we rolled up our sleeves and got to work, got the design and sent out a Request For Proposal to move forward. From start to finish, the actual construction of the cell took about a year.”
The expansion work is taking place in several phases and includes two new pits to hold the refuse, Cells 3A and 3B. Cell 3A opened at the beginning of the year after reconfiguring the facilities on the western edge of the landfill and has been receiving garbage throughout the year.
Russell Gulch currently receives approximately 85 tons of trash per day, and 54,000 tons annually, according to information presented to the Gila County Board of Supervisors. Cell 3A has a capacity of approximately 400,000 cubic yards.
Operating at 302 days per year, Cell 3A has a life expectancy of approximately nine years. After the Board of Supervisors approved $2.8 million for the project in January 2023, a “perched” water table—one that sits between the surface and and the main body of groundwater 200-400 feet below—that was thought to be dry was found to be full of what may have been stormwater from recent 100-year flooding events.
Construction costs wound up being slightly over $3 million, including change orders for the limit of waste and a water drainage issue. Additionally, construction of new scales and a scale house totaled $356,000.
The next phase, Cell 3B, should be completed at least two years before Cell 3A hits capacity in 2032. Cell 3B will have a capacity of 505,000 cubic yards and should be able to operate for 12.5 years through 2045.
Since siting a new landfill takes about ten years, the County has embarked on an ongoing process to stay ahead of running out of capacity. According to Supervisor Tim Humphrey, there are now monthly planning meetings for project updates and to discuss future funding.
Humphrey is pleased the work is finally going forward and credits County staff and administration for completion of phase one.
“Homero and the rest of the leadership did a great job of organizing and getting it where it needs to be,” Humphrey says. “Our current staff has a can-do attitude and are looking forward, not looking back.”
He also credits his fellow supervisors for sharing the forward-looking vision and being open to spending money where it is needed.
“We’re working as a team and everything is a team decision,” Humphrey says. “We wanted to have something in place that will be here beyond my time as a supervisor. I’m blessed to have a board that shares that vision.”
In addition to the work now being done on the Russell Gulch facility, the Buckhorn Mesa landfill north of Payson is in the planning stages, as it is expected to reach capacity in 2032.
The landfill sits on 51 acres of US Forest Service land and is used via a special use permit. In order to expand, Gila County must purchase land for the site and for the roads leading to it.
According to Mendez, on May 21, the County applied for a Townsite Act Purchase, which allows designated areas to be sold to “qualifying County, City or other governmental subdivisions at fair market value.”
“There are 55 steps to a Townsite Act Purchase,” Mendez wrote in an email to Globe Miami Times. “We are currently in the process of archeological and environmental studies of the land, which is part of the 55 Steps.”
The County hopes to have the land grant by June 2025 and designs completed by January 2026. If all goes according to plan, the Buckhorn Mesa expansion should have ADEQ approval by mid-2028.
Creating a team devoted to the cause
Mendez has continued to improve the workings of the landfill by training staff in the latest landfill techniques and technology and has created a cohesive team that is ready to serve Gila County in the future.
In addition to her willingness to get her hands dirty working with tons of refuse, she took her core leadership group to a SWANA Conference in Phoenix in April. She also brought in Blue Ridge Services, a solid waste consulting firm based in Montana, to conduct a gap assessment of both landfills in May in order to target staff training around the real-world needs of the County.
The newest member of the team is Landfill Manager Aaron Codiga, who established his career over five years working in residential collection for the City and County of Denver. During that time, he worked in logistics and as a Solid Waste Inspector. The last two years of his tenure were spent as a Program Administrator where he oversaw a massive project, mapping, routing, and digitizing the City’s collection routes.
Codiga started in July and can often be seen slinging trash with Mendez after office hours. The pair share a work ethic that keeps them both busy seven days a week.
“Working for Gila County has been a phenomenal experience,” Codiga says. “Melanie has extensive experience in the solid waste industry, and I feel very fortunate that she has been eager to share her knowledge with me since I started. I look forward to what we will achieve for the Gila County Landfills going forward.”
Vela says Public Works will continue to plan and stay ahead of the landfill needs of Gila County residents so they can plan for contingencies and reduce costs.
“It was costly to be late with the landfill construction because the trash will keep coming no matter what, and then you’re playing a catch-up game,” Vela says. “So we have a 10-year plan and we’re looking ahead.”
The Russell Gulch Landfill is located at 5891 E. Hope Lane, in Globe and is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It is closed Sunday and holidays.
Batteries and metal must be removed from loads going into landfill, but there are areas on site to deposit those items.
Call 928-402-8839 or go to www.gilacountyaz.gov/government/public_works/landfill/index.php for more information.
Journalist, writer and editor who has worked for community newspapers for more than 15 years. After four years at Davis-Monthan AFB and a few years living in Tucson, moved to California to find his fortune. He is happy to be back in Arizona, in the mountains he loves.
