Meridian Waste hosts autumn get-together at landfill

The Meridian Waste Missouri operating unit of  North Carolina-based Meridian Waste welcomed more than 650 guests to the 2025 edition of its Fall Harvest Family Fun Fest, held in early October at the Eagle Ridge Landfill in Bowling Green, Missouri.

The annual get-together, held Oct. 4 this year, is a free community event through which Meridian Waste invites neighbors, families and local nonprofit organizations to enjoy a day outdoors while learning about the essential role modern, well-managed landfills play in protecting public health and the environment. 

The Meridian Waste Missouri Eagle Ridge Landfill accepts municipal solid waste (MSW), construction and demolition (C&D) materials, yard waste and some special waste.

The company engages in the recycling or repurposing of some materials at the site, which is located about 80 miles northwest of St. Louis, and operates a landfill-gas-to-energy system there.

“It’s so important to open our gates and welcome our neighbors into the landfill,” says Barbie Russo, director of government and community affairs for Meridian Waste. “Events like the Fall Harvest Family Fun Fest give us a chance to show how modern landfills are not just waste disposal sites—they’re vital environmental protection systems. By managing waste safely, we help keep our communities clean, our air and water protected and our environment sustainable for future generations.”

Meridian Waste says every year, landfill staff members work to make the site welcoming not only for disposal customers but also for festival guests, many of whom are visiting an MSW landfill for the first time.

The year, guests had access to activities including a corn maze, a tractor-pulled hayride and landfill tour, a collection truck display, a bounce house, face painting, balloon twisting and crafts such as pumpkin painting and scarecrow building.

“Families also captured memories at the photo booth, and the always-popular Bubble Bus returned—filling the air with music and bubbles—thanks to the generous sponsorship of [Pennsylvania-based] Vision RNG, the site’s renewable natural gas and clean energy partner,” Meridian says.