The Great River Regional Waste Authority’s Board of Directors has approved the purchase of a waste grinder.
General Manager Wade Hamm said it could add as many as nine years of life to a portion of the landfill.
“It grinds the material down, smaller, so you can add more tonnage to the same air-space and you get a higher compaction rate," said Hamm. "So that would put our life out to 2040 before we would have to build another cell."
Hamm said there are still nearly 50 acres of undeveloped property on the GRRWA's property across from Rodeo Park.
He said the waste grinder can also pull metals out of the garbage, which could provide a possible revenue source for the authority.
The equipment will cost about $850,000 and should arrive early next week.
Hamm says only one other landfill in Iowa has a waste grinder.
