When many people think of landfills, they imagine facilities that were built decades ago. Today’s sanitary landfills operate under strict environmental regulations and often exist alongside homes, schools, parks, businesses, and recreational facilities.

Across North Carolina, communities have grown around modern landfills. Schools have been built nearby. New neighborhoods have been developed. Former landfills have been transformed into parks and recreation areas.

The photographs below show real examples from North Carolina and other communities where landfills and everyday life exist side by side.

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Speedway Landfill

Concord, North Carolina

The Speedway Landfill in Concord provides one of North Carolina’s most visible examples of how modern landfills can coexist with surrounding development.

Charlotte Motor Speedway, one of the nation’s premier motorsports venues, sits partially on a closed section of the landfill. The active landfill continues to operate nearby.

Over time, schools, neighborhoods, and commercial development have been built in the surrounding area.

Jay M. Robinson High School

Cabarrus County selected a site immediately adjacent to Speedway Landfill when it built Jay M. Robinson High School. Today, thousands of students attend classes, participate in athletics, and attend community events at the school. Athletic fields and facilities are located near the landfill property.

Pitts School Road Elementary School

Located on another side of the landfill, Pitts School Road Elementary School serves local families and students in the area. The school was built after landfill operations had already begun and continues to operate as part of the growing Cabarrus County school system.

Residential Neighborhoods

Residential subdivisions have been developed near Speedway Landfill, including neighborhoods built while landfill operations were ongoing. These neighborhoods illustrate how residential growth and modern landfill operations can coexist when facilities are properly designed, buffered, and regulated.

Landfills as Parks

Mount Trashmore

Virginia Beach, Virginia
One of the nation's most famous examples of landfill redevelopment, Mount Trashmore transformed a former landfill into a regional recreation destination that includes lakes, playgrounds, trails, and open space.

Green Hills County Park

Wake County, North Carolina
Landfills don’t remain a landfill forever. Green Hills County Park is built on a former landfill site and now provides outdoor recreation opportunities for local residents, including walking trails, biking facilities, open space, and community gathering areas.

A Different Picture of Modern Landfills

No one expects a landfill to be beautiful. But modern landfills are often very different from the image many people have in mind.

Today’s facilities operate under strict environmental regulations, use engineered liner systems, capture methane gas, monitor groundwater, and maintain large buffers between active operations and neighboring properties.

These examples illustrate an important reality: modern landfills can and do operate alongside schools, homes, parks, businesses, and other community assets throughout North Carolina.