In addition, while visiting the Broome County facility, SCIA saw first hand how the GeoLogic GPS system installed on the BOMAG compactor worked. The GeoLogic GPS system allows the operator to monitor compaction and wheel track coverage. In addition, the system alerts the operator when compaction is complete.

"You don't want to over compact the trash," says Dave Cobb, assistant site supervisor of the SCIA. "Over compacting will lead to fluff. Fluff is when the trash starts to become loose again. This is a big problem because you increase air voids again and have loose trash that will blow around.

Not only does SCIA plan on using the GeoLogic GPS system for meeting their compaction needs, but they also plan to use it for a variety of other things. "This system will allow us to track where things are in the landfill," says Cobb. "For instance, if we have a load of asbestos dumped, we can mark it with the GPS unit. This information is then sent to our office computers and kept on record."

"It's very important to map out the entire site and to know where everything is," says Schmidt. "If we need to drill a hole for our methane gas pipeline, we need to know what we are going to hit. We don't want the guys drilling through asbestos and having that come out of the hole. We can also use GPS to determine our grades and slopes, plot the next cell and track what's being dumped in each cell."