Tons of garbage tallied at county landfill

Per ton cost for operations at the county landfill went down in fiscal year 2013, but the Flathead County Solid Waste District’s recycling program posted another big loss, according to the district’s recent annual report.

Solid waste hauled to the landfill from July 2012 through June 2013 totaled 95,277 tons, about 3 percent more than in FY 2012. That breaks down to 16,855 tons of construction debris, 1,126 tons of brush, 8,581 tires, 750 batteries, 4,800 gallons of oil, 1,100 gallons of antifreeze, 1,811 refrigerators and 3,811 other appliances.

The brush was chipped and used at the landfill, the tires were hauled to a private landfill at a cost to the district of $13,488, the refrigerators and appliances were baled and sold for $85,776, the batteries were sold for $2,740, and the oil was sold for $2,825.

The district’s $6.2 million in revenues for operations and capital improvements come from the annual assessment of $80.73 per household on about 41,000 homes, a tipping fee of $31.05 per ton and the sale of recyclable waste — but the recycling program posted a $89,127 loss last year.

“Increases in hauling and handling costs combined with lower commodity prices contributed to the second greatest fiscal year loss in the program’s 16-year history,” the report states.

Waste hauled from the county’s 11 green-box sites accounted for 24,822 tons, about 1 percent more than in FY 2012. Abuse of the sites by businesses and out-of-county residents continues to be a major problem — the district spent $11,233, for example, cleaning up chromic acid dumped illegally at the Lakeside greenbox site.

“As the only staffed site, Columbia Falls continues to receive positive public response due to the cleanliness of the site, improved recycling and elimination of salvagers,” the report states. “The cardboard compactor has greatly increased hauling efficiency, making recycling of the material cost-effective for the district and improved public utilization by increasing storage capacity.”

Last June, the district awarded a $273,038 contract to Paveco LLC to build the new Red Rocks greenbox site near Essex, which is expected to open this fall. The district also paid $81,331 for the land, site preparation and engineering for the Red Rocks site.

The 275-acre county landfill between Kalispell and Whitefish includes the 105-acre north area, now in use, and the larger south area, which was approved for use by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in spring 2006.

“The landfill is currently in excellent standing with the DEQ regarding both the operations of the solid waste license and the air quality permit,” the report states. Some corrective actions for potential groundwater contamination were undertaken under DEQ direction and “appear to be having the desired effects,” the report states.

Preventing hazardous waste from contaminating the county’s surface and ground water is an important goal for the district. Last year in its monthly collection program, the district paid $20,055 to dispose of 2,860 gallons of hazardous materials accepted from 169 county residents.

Twelve schools, municipalities and businesses brought in another 2,287 pounds of hazardous material at the 10th annual collection event. And the district spent $127,954 in grant money from the DEQ to dispose of more than 85,000 junk vehicles.

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Cutting-edge system could answer county septics problem

An answer to growing public concerns about the potential health hazard of dumping 2.7 million gallons of raw sewage each year on fields in Flathead Valley was the topic of a recent workshop in Kalispell.

Consultants with the Smith Creek Bioreactor Landfill in St. Clair, Mich., conducted a half-day workshop on Feb. 25 describing a new technology that injects septic waste into decomposing material at the county landfill instead of open farm fields.

The consultants also made presentations to the Flathead County Solid Waste Board, the county commissioners and Flathead Electric Cooperative. Their message — bioreactor technology may be feasible here.

“This was purely about education,” Flathead County public works director Dave Prunty said. “This is cutting-edge technology, and it’s fascinating, but it’s still in the research and development and demonstration stage. There’s a lot to learn.”

Septic effluent from about 22,000 septic tanks currently is spread on local farmland, but the amount of available farmland has decreased over the last couple decades because of subdivision growth.

Flathead City-County Health Officer Joe Russell has warned that applying waste on open fields must end some day, and getting septic waste into some type of treatment facility is “a necessary thing.”

The bioreactor landfill in Michigan, first of its kind in the U.S., demonstrates an alternative to traditional field applications of septic effluent. Injecting the effluent into landfill material allows faster decomposition, reclaims airspace and increases landfill gas generation to produce electricity, Smith Creek Landfill director Matthew Williams told the Flathead County Commissioners.

Williams noted that landfill gas collection has been once of the biggest benefits of the bioreactor system, which generates more than $750,000 in gas sales per year.

Flathead County’s Landfill Gas-to-Energy Facility began operating here four years ago, a joint project between the county and Flathead Electric. Methane gas — a byproduct of decomposing trash — is burned to drive a turbine that generates electricity. The Co-op is looking at adding a second generator, and a bioreactor facility could benefit that plan.

State law in Michigan had to be changed to allow bioreactor systems, Williams said, but Montana law already allows such technology.

“If Flathead County is looking to explore this, state regulations are already in place,” he said.

The Michigan bioreactor facility was a multi-million-dollar project that used grant funding aimed at water-quality preservation and benefited from low-interest loans because of the project’s “green” status.

Prunty said discussions with solid waste officials at the Montana Department of Environmental Quality would be necessary, but at this point it’s difficult to know if or how the county would pursue such technology.

“There would need to be some major analysis,” he said.