As a technical sales manager, I get asked with more and more frequency about problems associated with drilling spoils disposal. Most landfills will not take fluids. Now, we aren’t blaming the landfills — drill spoils containing free liquid can cause considerable damage to leachate collection and treatment systems, plus fluids can cause trucks and other equipment at the landfill to bog down. Additionally, most landfills consider the drilling fluids contaminated. Generally, the bentonite-based fluid wouldn’t be considered a hazardous product even with the additional additives and polymers needed in certain soil conditions. However, no one knows what the soil contains where the bore was done. Therefore, most landfills simply say no, or if they do have an area that accepts liquid they can charge as much as $1,300 for the dump!
This situation is not new, and we in the industry bump up against it several times a year. Some consider it a more “urban” area problem, but with increasing consistency I am hearing from contractors and distributors in rural areas as well. Most of us have run into this scenario several times. If not, consider yourself lucky, but chances are you will see it in the future.