In Lincoln County, the landfill is expanding.
Their trash compactor broke and the county board was deciding at last week’s meeting whether to borrow or bond to cover the cost of the machine and open up a new cell for garbage.
They decided to push the issue to a later date.
WXPR spoke with the County Board Chairman and officials from the Solid Waste department about the landfill.
It’s time to expand the Lincoln County landfill.
That’s what Keith Cohrs , Landfill Manager says.
Construction has already been approved by the DNR.
However, the landfill’s most expensive piece of equipment, their trash compactor, broke.
Through their research, the department decided it would make the most sense to purchase a used re-fabricated machine to replace their broken one.
It’ll cost around $700,000.
But that’s not where the landfill’s troubles stopped.
In the last several years, the Lincoln County Landfill has seen a higher volume of waste than normal.
Keith Cohrs is the Lincoln County Landfill Manager.
He explained that the department wasn’t sure the reason for the increase in trash- they thought that it might be related to the COVID-19 pandemic or maybe due to the influx of new people to the Northwoods.
Regardless of the reason, this higher volume of waste filled the landfill’s designated cell a lot faster than they expected.
Cohrs says they’ve already dug a new cell and just need to put in an appropriate liner before they can begin using it.
As a result of this increase in waste, the landfill has canceled some out-of-county accounts.
Cohrs says he believes that will reduce the amount of waste coming into the site.
The new cell will cost around $3 million.
At Monday’s Lincoln County Board meeting, the board deliberated on whether they should borrow or bond to cover the nearly $4 million needed by the landfill.
They decided to push the issue to a later meeting.
This is Don Friske, Chairman of the Lincoln County Board.
“We just weren't ready to do that. We need some more information,” he explained.
He says they still have some big picture questions to answer, like can the solid waste plant be self-sufficient and can its budget have a surplus?
