Inactive and Closed Solid Waste Landfills

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources keeps a list of inactive and closed solid waste landfills in Missouri, sorted by the county in which each operated. It gives each landfill's type and status. The list is separate from the one for Operating Solid Waste Landfills.

In a Phase I ESA

The department's list is the Missouri form of the state landfill and solid waste disposal site records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a landfill listing is on the landfills and solid waste page. The Missouri terms matter, because the department uses "inactive" and "closed" for different stages.

• Inactive. A landfill is inactive once the operator has filled it to the depth and extent the department approved, stopped accepting waste and begun closure. The operator must meet closure requirements before the landfill is called closed. In general that includes a final physical cap over the waste.
• Closed. A landfill is closed once it passes its closure inspection and all closure documentation is approved. It is then in post-closure care for as long as waste remains in place. The operator keeps up the landfill and possibly long-term monitoring where environmental control systems are present, to protect the cap and keep leachate and decomposition gases from leaving the property.

The department says closure requirements may differ between sites, depending on the type of landfill, when it operated and when it stopped accepting waste. It says post-closure requirements may differ too, depending on the type of landfill, site-specific conditions or corrective actions required by an administrative order or court order, and when the landfill stopped accepting waste. After closure the department continues to inspect the landfill and keep in contact with the party responsible for maintenance and monitoring.

Fact sheets on closed landfills

The department's page lists three fact sheets: requirements and considerations when selling or buying a landfill (PUB2429), maintaining a closed landfill (PUB2431) and acceptable uses of a closed landfill (PUB2430). Read them if the property is or sits on a closed landfill. Its closure guidance is publication PUB0187.

Where to look a site up

• The department's Inactive and Closed Solid Waste Landfills page.
• The department's Missouri Solid Waste Management map, which the department says has a table of all solid waste facilities under its "expand" tab.
• The department's long-term stewardship pages link an interactive map of operating and closed solid waste processing facilities and landfills. See Long-Term Stewardship (LTS).
• The Waste Management Program takes questions on a specific landfill, at 573-751-5401 and wmp@dnr.mo.gov.

Getting the file

The pages read do not give a landfill-specific records route. The department's general route is the Sunshine Law request.

Sources

Missouri Department of Natural Resources pages, read October 8, 2026, no modified date shown:

• Inactive and Closed Solid Waste Landfills
• Operating Solid Waste Landfills
• Closed and Long-Term Stewardship (LTS) Sites