When the Crapo Hill Landfill was first established in 1995, it was expected to last 20 years. 

Ten years past its expiration, the landfill has begun to reach capacity, with a clock now ticking down the remaining five and a half years. 

But officials with the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District believe new strategies could keep Crapo Hill open into the late 2030s — or even the 2050s — more than doubling its original life expectancy.

With only about 50 of the landfill’s permitted 70 acres currently in use, there’s room to expand. A nearly complete design for a seventh “cell,” expected to add seven more years of capacity, is ready for permitting. The cell would occupy 4 to 5 acres, leaving room for potential future growth, said John Beauregard, refuse district committee chair and Dartmouth representative, to the Select Board Monday, May 19.

“There’s a whole lot of hurdles we would have to overcome to make it work, but there’s still additional capacity there,” Beauregard said, adding that the goal is to get the seventh cell built and then think about what’s next.

The district is in “excellent financial condition,” Beauregard said. While contracts are negotiated annually, creating some uncertainty, he assured the Board that the district’s financial cushion would help shield residents from immediate cost burdens.

The refuse district has saved Dartmouth an estimated $11.5 million in waste disposal costs since opening, according to executive director Anthony Novelli. 

“We are able to provide Dartmouth with very favorable, reliable and economically responsible waste disposal, which is not an easy thing to do,” he said. As the waste industry continues to see the rise in mergers and acquisitions, the costly transfer of waste disposal to other states has become increasingly more common. 

In Fiscal Year 2024, Dartmouth sent 5,734 tons of municipal solid waste to Crapo Hill — a 2% increase from the previous year. The town was assessed $138,272, averaging $24 per ton. According to Novelli, the district saved the town approximately $525,000.

In addition to promoting waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting efforts, the refuse district has looked for other opportunities to maximize capacity. Novelli noted a 44% reduction in non-member waste over the past three years, which hurts revenue but benefits members.

In his August update, Novelli estimated five years of life remaining at the landfill. That number has since increased — not by mistake, he said, but as a direct result of the district’s ongoing efforts.