Salina Landfill Sees Record Waste Volumes After Hail and Wind Storms

The Salina landfill is on pace to set a record for waste received this year, driven in part by storm debris, a landfill official told the Solid Waste Management Committee on Aug. 13.

The official said the facility had already reached about 70,000 tons for the year. He said June brought just under 13,000 tons and July reached about 16,000 tons, roughly 3,000 tons of which was concrete debris. He projected the landfill could reach about 110,000 tons for the year if trends continue. By comparison, he cited 2014 as one of the highest prior years at about 104,000 tons.

Construction and demolition (C&D) material is running at 28% of intake this year, compared with a typical range of 15 to 20%, the official said, reaching about 20,000 tons so far. He said that increase is a major reason staff have been examining plans for a dedicated C&D landfill section, described as 25 acres with five-acre cells within it. He said C&D cells carry lower cost and fewer requirements than municipal solid waste cells and that he planned to visit facilities in Reno County and Barton County to learn more.

The official said staff have been sorting scrap metal from C&D material to offset costs, diverting about 30 tons of steel this year and generating roughly $3,800 in additional revenue, with 118 tons fully diverted for scrapping. He said the operation has met its normal $16,000 C&D revenue goal.

Regarding storm limbs, the official said the landfill had about 13,000 tons of limbs on the ground, with most coming from a recent windstorm, and described seeing up to 300 trucks a day at peak. Officials said city crews alone hauled roughly 4,700 loads, or about 6,000 tons, out of the city. Staff said they used truck averages rather than weighing every load and received state approval for the estimating method.