Invasive plants growing on top of a sealed landfill in Woolwich need to be eliminated to keep waste from seeping out. Woolwich Solid Waste Committee chairman Fred Kahrl told selectmen he needed direction from the town on what to do about the problem. 

Kahrl mowed the area last year on his own, without getting paid for the work, but said he had not volunteered to mow this summer without specific guidelines from selectmen. 

Resident Hans Van Wiligan, also a Solid Waste Committee member, expressed his concern for the stability of the landfill's clay membrane, which is designed to keep waste contained. He said he is concerned about the landfill not being mowed.

The conversation among selectmen and committee members revealed that if the membrane's turf eroded, rain could cause waste fluids to seep out. Wiligan owns property near the landfill area and said he is concerned about waste seeping into neighboring wells.

Kahrl said there are invasive plants, sumac and burdock, that have sprouted up all over the landfill area. They kill off all other weeds as they grow and spread and when cut back there is nothing but bare earth, thus damaging the soil and compromising the stability of the landfill membrane. 

Kahrl, who hobbled into the meeting leaning against a cane, said it would have been difficult to mow the area using just a walk-behind push mower.  

“The sumac patch has gotten too big to mow,” he said. 

He told selectmen he had been waiting to hear back from the board regarding a management plan and wanted authorization to use herbicide on the invasive plants. He offered to use his tractor to bush-hog the area, but some selectmen said they were concerned about the wheels getting stuck in the wet ground. 

In response to board chairman David King's question about getting the grass to grow back after spreading the herbicide, Kahrl said he would just re-seed the area in the spring. At this point, the thistle patches have gotten too thick, have dried out and have long since started populating the area with millions of seeds.