The Lansing Landfill could be on its way to being more environmentally friendly by the end of the year if all goes as the owners hope.

Representatives from SKB Environmental — the company that owns the landfill — explored the possibility of building a liner for the landfill with City Council members at a work session Monday night.

John Domke, vice president of SKB Environmental, told council members the lining would help separate the landfill from the environment by catching potentially polluted runoff, known as leachate.

The liner would work like a coffee filter, with the leachate being the coffee that gets past the filter, Domke said.

“(The water) is already very clean, but we don’t like the idea that volatile organics and arsenic and things could be in the soil,” SKB Environmental President Richard O’Gara said at the work session. “This is a good thing to do.”

The biggest issue is finding a place to dispose of the 2 million gallons of leachate the landfill will generate each year — but that’s where the city of Austin comes in.

Although Erichson admitted he was initially skeptical of letting the landfill use the Waste Water Treatment Plant, since the landfill is technically located in Lansing Township and not Austin, he said he is beginning to warm up to the idea.

“They’ve continued to supply us with information,” Erichson said. “Looking at that, I think our risk is less than what I initially thought.”

Erichson is concerned the Waste Water Treatment Plant may not be able to handle the 2 million gallons of leachate since it’s already running near full capacity at times. However, since the plant takes in 13 million gallons on a daily basis, Erichson and council members hope 2 million extra gallons per year won’t make much of a difference.

SKB Environmental would also be paying to use the facility, so the city would not lose money if the two entities reach an agreement.

Although council members took no formal action at the work session, they encouraged Erichson to continue talks with representatives from the landfill.

O’Gara said he hopes to begin the project by the end of 2011.