Growth creates more garbage, but no fee hike planned

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

COEUR d'ALENE — Kootenai County's Solid Waste Department is keeping pace with a rising amount of garbage going to the landfill at Fighting Creek, the director told the county’s commissioners on Monday.

Waste going to the landfill increased by 7.4 percent over the last fiscal year.

"We've gone over budget on fuel costs, and we've had people working overtime, but our revenue has covered those additional expenses," said Cathy Mayer in an interview with The Press after she briefed commissioners.

"We're not dipping into our fund balance (to pay for the additional costs), and we're not panicking to raise rates."

Mayer said the county hasn't raised its solid waste fee since 2010, and it doesn't see a need to in the foreseeable future.

The $93 annual solid waste fee allows a household to bring in up to 2,000 pounds of waste per trip to a transfer station on Ramsey Road in Coeur d'Alene or Prairie Avenue in Post Falls. A resident disposing more than 2,000 pounds per trip and commercial disposers pay $67.70 per ton.

By comparison, a privately operated Spokane site charges each disposer $96.27 per ton with a minimum charge of $14.48 each trip.

Responding to a question from Commissioner Marc Eberlein, Mayer said the increase in waste came from a combination of construction activity and waste from the general public.

Mayer said waste taken to the transfer station on Prairie grew at a 10 percent clip over the previous year and at a higher pace than Ramsey, but that's OK since Prairie has the space to take on the increase.

Expansion at Ramsey, where the old landfill was located, is limited, she said.

Mayer said the increase at Prairie is slightly distorted because waste was diverted there from Ramsey when there were projects happening at the Coeur d'Alene site this year.

Mayer said the county has implemented steps now and will do so in the future to stay on top of the growth curve.

Two scalehouse operators — new positions approved during the last budget cycle — have been hired.

The county also had some contractors haul large amounts of construction waste directly to the landfill instead of to a transfer station to save on handling and transportation costs. Such contractors were given a reduced rate to create a win-win scenario, she said.

Scales will be added to the landfill in Fighting Creek next year to allow contractors south of Coeur d'Alene to take waste directly to that site. The $2 million addition will not be open to the general public.

A capping project with artificial turf at the landfill was recently completed and a liner project to create more capacity will be built next year.

A $600,000 household hazardous materials facility that will increase storage space and improve ventilation will be built at the Ramsey transfer site next year. A retaining wall for scrap metal, appliances and other recycled material will be constructed at the Prairie station.

No new rural collection sites are planned after one opened near Rose Lake earlier this year.

Mayer said the county has been using a 3 percent yearly growth rate in solid waste in its long-range planning efforts, but may need to change that to 5 percent if the economic boom continues.

Commissioner Chris Fillios praised Solid Waste staff for the county not having an environmental violation for at least 20 years.

Mayer said the idea to privatize the Solid Waste Department has not surfaced recently.