County landfill sees increase in waste stream

The Flathead County Landfill disposed of 100,445 tons of garbage during the 2014 fiscal year, an increase of 5.42 percent over the previous year.

An upswing in the amount of waste generated by residents and businesses generally is an indicator of a growing economy, Flathead County Public Works Director Dave Prunty said.

Construction debris accounted for 16 percent of the waste stream, with 19,246 tons disposed for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. That is up 14 percent from 2013.

By comparison, construction waste dropped to 15,822 tons for fiscal 2010 when the Flathead Valley was feeling the effects of the recession.

Landfill use overall declined in 2009 through 2011, but by September 2012 began gradually increasing again.

The Solid Waste District released its 2014 annual report this week, providing a snapshot of the quantities and kinds of waste that are deposited at the landfill.

For the 2014 fiscal year, 77,088 tons of mixed waste were deposited at the landfill, of which 47 percent was from commercial haulers, 11 percent from municipal haulers, 9 percent from private residents and 33 percent from the green-box container sites.

Brush was accepted at the landfill from July 2013 through March 2014 until a disposal source could be found for the chipped material, according to the report. In June 2014 the district entered into a biomass fuel purchase agreement with F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. The company pays the Solid Waste District $12 per ton for the material.

There were 841 tons of brush chipped and diverted from April through June 2014.

The district keeps count of all sorts of items disposed at the landfill, including 8,761 tires that were taken by a private tire landfill at a cost to the district of $13,660 in fiscal 2014. A total of 574 car batteries, 8,023 gallons of oil and 710 gallons of anti-freeze were accepted for recycling.

Nearly 2,000 refrigerators and 4,497 other appliances contributed to the 640.5 tons of white goods that were baled and removed. The district brought in $119,680 for those recycling efforts, including $109,289 for the white goods, $7,551 for the oil and $2,840 for the batteries.

The district spent $179,492 on the recycling program through the blue bins at collection sites and received $80,341 in revenue for 875 tons of recyclables such as aluminum, cardboard, paper and plastic.

The cost of recycling per ton jumped to $119.91 compared to $35.26 per ton in fiscal 2012. Increases in hauling and handling costs contributed to the greatest fiscal year loss in the program’s 17-year history, the report noted.

Flathead County has since taken steps to consolidate its recycling program. Blue recycling bins were phased out at four green-box collection sites starting Jan. 1.

The Solid Waste District’s household hazardous waste collection program is another service that’s not a money-maker. In 2014 ,1,487 gallons of oil-based paints, pesticides, poisons, mercury and household chemicals were collected. The district paid disposal costs of $27,433 to an out-of-state hazardous waste firm to dispose of the hazardous materials.

District revenues generated by refuse and tipping fees, sale of recycled commodities and investment earnings were just over $10 million in fiscal 2014, up from $6.25 million the previous year. Expenditures totaled just over $8 million, compared to $6.93 million in fiscal 2013. More than $2 million was spent in 2014 to purchase eight neighboring landfill properties.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.