Costs of landfills

THE ISSUE

The city of Florence, which operates the Shoals' only municipal landfill certified to accept household garbage, is looking for property to expand its landfill capacity.

Rolling the big green cans out to the curb once a week for collection is not the end of household garbage for Florence and other Shoals residents.

It's taken somewhere for proper disposal - at a cost. For Florence, that's in the municipal landfill just off Alabama 20. For other Shoals residents, it's a regional landfill in Lawrence County or in Mississippi.

Florence officials say they expect to get another seven years of use from the city's landfill. It accepts about 150 tons of garbage daily, though it is certified by the state to accept more than 200 tons. David Koonce, who oversees Florence's landfill operation, credits an aggressive recycling program for the long life of the landfill.

Colbert and Lauderdale counties operate what are known as inert landfills, which may accept building and lawn debris, but not household garbage. A landfill licensed to accept household garbage must meet far more stringent environmental regulations designed to protect ground and surface water, and to control vermin, among other things.

Adding land to expand a municipal landfill is not a simple matter, nor is it an inexpensive matter. Extensive testing is required, and if the state gives approval, elaborate liners are required to prevent leachate reaching groundwater, gas monitoring stations must be built, and prescribed layers of dirt must be used to cover garbage daily. Incinerators are just as difficult to license, and have drawbacks of their own.

Which brings us back to Koonce's statement about recycling. Florence is the only local government with curbside recycling. Other local governments have attempted recycling programs with little success. With the cost of transporting household garbage outside the region for disposal becoming more prohibitive, a re-examination of recycling in the Shoals is needed.

A regionwide recycling effort would seem to be a viable alternative to simply dumping otherwise usable items in the nearest garbage can. Sure, there's a cost associated with recycling, but the cost of disposal is higher. In the end, residents will pay higher rates to solve the problem, but keeping the rates within reason through recycling would be desirable.

This is an opportunity for intergovernmental cooperation that could actually save taxpayers money.