Landfill size, tipping rate increasing over coming fiscal year – Maryville Daily Times

Its set to be a big 2021-22 fiscal year for the Alcoa/Maryville/Blount County Sanitary Landfill, which is in the early stages of expanding its more than 250-acre footprint and increasing per-ton tipping fees by mid-summer of next year.

Landfill and city of Alcoa officials said expansion of its Class III material cells nonhazardous industrial, commercial, landscaping, land clearing and farming wastes could take until at least February 2022.

Meanwhile, they said tipping fees to dump 1 ton of waste at the site will rise from $50 to $52 on July 1, this following a busy fiscal 2020 and sharp increases in trash drop-offs during the heat of COVID-19 restrictions.

Alcoa Public Works and Engineering Director Shane Snoderly said increased rates track with inflation. Weve held off the last few years, he said. We actually probably should be a little higher than what we are, but thats just kind of playing some catch-up.

As rates rise, so will the amount of space at the landfill. Operations there are finally realizing the fruit of planning that lasted several years, officials said.

Expanding for Class III materials is important to the landfill, where crews recently tore down the decades-old cabin staff used as an office tucked in a hilly, wooded area in the southwestern portion to make room for 11 more acres of Class III waste cells.

But before that happens, the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation has to give the permitting green light.

That could take until February 2022, according to Solid Waste Manager Kelly Hembree, though she hopes sooner. She also explained a single-permit expansion plan leaders initially created recently was split in two on TDECs recommendation.

What weve decided to do is to break it into two projects, Hembree said. The overlay project were doing first because were kind of in a hurry, and the other project is where the old office used to be.

Snoderly explained doing overlay strategically layering material on top of already existing cells is a lot easier to get permitted and get underway.

Launching these projects comes not a moment too soon for the landfill, Hembree added. Were currently on the last lift (or layer) of the current demolition cell, she said, explaining leaders already are using space designated for Class I materials to store Class III materials.

Ive put all the commercial construction demolition waste ... into the current Class I cell, and we dont want to do that, Hembree explained.

Having more cells by 2022 will mean less scraping for space, at least for the better part of another century, which is how long some officials estimate it will last.

Blount Countians may be able to help extend that time, however.

Hembree encouraged residents to find another use for things they throw away.

The only thing that really bothers me is a lot of things people haul off they could donate somewhere. You see a lot of good things that could have been used had it been taken to like a Habitat ReStore or AMVETS or somewhere like that, she said, noting the adage reduce, reuse, recycle still rings true in Blount.

Snoderly agreed, noting local recycling options are a huge benefit to extending the life of the landfill.

Follow @arjonesreports on Facebook and Twitter for more from city government reporter Andrew Jones.

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Landfill size, tipping rate increasing over coming fiscal year - Maryville Daily Times