GSE system provides a greener look for geomembrane containment

GSE Environmental is helping its customers get a little more green with their geomembrane containment systems.

GSE has formed a strategic alliance with LiteEarth LLC to distribute the synthetic grass capping system for use in landfills, coal ash impoundments, mining waste containment sites and other areas that require long-term closure and containment.

The system provides a grass-like appearance, which improves aesthetics while still providing needed protection.

GSE is providing its geomembrane expertise and global marketing reach for LiteEarth LLC, the developer of the turf containment system. The system, also tradenamed LiteEarth, will be manufactured in Calhoun, Ga., according to Chuck Fleishman, LiteEarth director and a patent holder for the technology.

"It took a long time to make it work properly," Fleishman noted in a phone interview. After years of development, the system underwent two years of trials and testing before the commercial launch announced by GSE on March 22.

The LiteEarth system is comprised of an artificial turf layer bonded to an EPDM bottom layer. The artificial turf is made of a woven polypropylene backing tufted with polyethylene filament to simulate natural grass. The turf structure is laminated to an EPDM bottom layer that acts as the containment layer. Fleishman said the PE "grass" is UV resistant and a special adhesive is needed to bond the two layers to resist changes due to temperature variations. The "grass" blades are made by extruding a PE filament under high pressure then cooling and stretching it before machinery tufts the filament into the woven PP backing.

Turf specialist Act Global of Austin, Texas, will make the turf layer nearby in Dalton, Ga. Firestone Building Products makes the EPDM sheet. GSE's expertise in geomembrane lamination provides the key to bond the two layers. GSE vice president for marketing Steve Eckhart said EPDM was chosen because it lays flat, a difficult trait for conventional polyolefin membranes.

The LiteEarth system can replace traditional capping systems based on three or more feet of soil, infill and natural grass. LiteEarth cuts costs of construction and saves natural resources that would otherwise cover the contained site. It saves "thousands of dollars per acre every year in maintenance costs," according to Houston-based GSE.

GSE claims LiteEarth is installed easily using trenchless earth anchors and a simple seaming process that avoids welding, stitching and sand ballast.

LiteEarth and Act Global have a common shareholder, Fleishman explained. Act Global is a leading artificial turf producer with installations around the world.