The Butterworth Landfill Files are mostly composed of files from the United States Enviornmental Protection Agency, or EPA, from when they had taken over jurisdiction of the landfill from the city after a civil suit. The documents show both the legal proceedings against the city, the reclaimation of the landfill for public use, as well as the plans the the agency had for the site.

The main series that the collection is divided into is based upon the types of documents within the collection and the frequency in which they appear. There is also a sub-series within the Administrative Records series as it is the largest series and there are several documents that occur many times.

Many of the documents contained within the collection are the documents produced and sought after by the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency. In 19[8]7 the US Government sued the city of Grand Rapids for their role in allowing the unrestricted dumping of pollutants into the dump and thus requiring an extensive clean up operation to take place in order for the area to be reclaimed.

The documents span the period after the dump had ceased to operate, and therefore are almost entirely comprised of documents pertaining to the lawsuit that was brought against Grand Rapids, the decisions and building plans that would be made about the land itself as a result.