Staff writer
Marion County Transfer Station Director Rollin Schmidt received signed contracts from Butler County Sanitary Landfill, he told Marion County Commission Monday.
The five-year contract with Butler County begins Jan. 1, 2009. The landfill will charge $31.50 per ton for municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris.
Marion County has sent its waste to Hamm Landfill near Perry since Jan. 1, 2003. Starting Jan. 1, taking waste to Hamm Landfill would cost $20.30 per ton, plus a fuel surcharge. The surcharge changes with the cost of fuel.
The county will save money by not making the 295-mile roundtrip to Perry, Schmidt said.
Other changes are being made to reduce the county’s expenses of disposing of waste.
Commissioners voted Nov. 24 to purchase a semi and hire a driver to haul the county’s garbage. At the time, Schmidt estimated the county would save about $3.50 per ton hauling its own waste, but changes to fuel costs could change the savings.
Marion County Commission also is considering recycling some waste, reducing the tonnage sent to landfill. Recycling even could generate revenue for the county, but prices for recycled material are very low at this time, Schmidt said.