Arbor Hills Landfill: Troubling Temperatures
In August 2022, something troubling was happening beneath the surface of the Arbor Hills Landfill, operated by GFL Enviromental, in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Volunteers with The Conservancy Initiative, who have spent years tracking conditions at the landfill, digging through public records and documenting troubling problems, share a set of photos and videos they obtained by carefully combing through public documents.
These videos document conditions around landfill gas well 16R6: subsided and cracked ground, pooled liquid, and visible vapor or steam rising around the well. The five videos, recorded on August 8 and 9, provide a rare on-the-ground look at what was happening.
Watch the five videos:
Troubling view of landfill slope: A view of the affected landfill slope, including the gas well and disturbed ground.
Flares and stacks: The landfill’s gas management facility, including its flares and engine or turbine stacks.
Vapor & subsided area: Gas well 16R6 sitting in a subsided area, with vapor visibly rising from the ground.
Close up of problems: A closer look at the base of the well, showing pooled liquid and steam or vapor rising from the wet ground.
Another close up of problems: Churned ground and pooled liquid immediately beside the well.
The 2022 footage is especially troubling because it wasn't an isolated warning sign. As our recent report, Too Hot to Ignore, details, an unannounced EGLE inspection in 2019 identified an elevated-temperature event and significant subsidence at Arbor Hills. 21 gas wells were abandoned because of high temperatures and 20 replacement wells were drilled. By early 2025, one well reached 177°F, accompanied by significant changes in landfill gas composition. Michigan regulators have continued to allow multiple wells at Arbor Hills to operate above the normally permitted temperature limit, in one case up to 180°F.
And yet GFL wants to build a new landfill across the street. They even studied closing this county primary road (Six Mile Road) to join the new and old landfills. An expansion of this landfill is a terrible idea. What the people living around Arbor Hills deserve is rigorous oversight from the state regulator and answers to basic questions - What is causing the persistent elevated temperatures? What is happening beneath the surface of the landfill? And have the underlying problems actually been resolved?
