Rumpke Waste and Recycling recently received county approval to up the amount of waste it accepts at the Medora Landfill by 25% to handle future growth in the region.
That change to the company’s solid waste permit, issued by the county in 2004 as part of a landfill expansion, came Tuesday during a Jackson County Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.
The amendment allows for an extra 500 tons per day at the landfill at 546 S. County Road 870W and increases an annual permitted tonnage of 624,000. Before the change, the landfill was allowed to receive 1,500 tons per day or 468,000 tons annually.
Last year, Rumpke brought in a total of 418,271 tons of waste to the Medora Landfill.
The reason for the increase in tonnage is because Rumpke is nearing its annual tonnage limit and wants to leave room to accommodate large-scale cleanups for events like natural disasters.
“There’s no secret tonnage that we have that’s ready to come in. We just want to be prepared for the future,” landfill manager Brad Marlow said.
The amendment, which does not allow for any expansion of the landfill, was approved 4-1 by the BZA and requires no further action.
Marlow and Hillary Ladig, corporate communications coordinator for Rumpke, both gave a presentation to the BZA about Rumpke and its current tonnage situation.
Waste disposed at the landfill comes from within a 75-mile radius of Jackson County. Board member John Hinton asked if Rumpke is receiving waste from Kentucky, and Marlow said Rumpke said it does. Hinton asked if that’s where Atomic Transport trucks come from, and Marlow said some trucks come from Lawrence County, but a majority of them come from Louisville, Kentucky.
He also said around half of Rumpke’s tonnage comes from Kentucky, and 99.63% of its waste is within the 75-mile radius. The 0.37% comes from contractors in northern Indiana, but Marlow emphasized it’s a small percentage.
BZA member Donald Cummings asked when it’s projected that the Medora Landfill will be full.
Marlow said it has 25 to 30 years of life if there are no changes to Rumpke’s tonnage. He said the company is applying for a permit for vertical expansion of the landfill that would add 20 years to its life. The landfill has 45 to 50 years of life left, including the vertical expansion, Marlow said.
In response to another question from Cummings about where Jackson County would take waste if Rumpke didn’t get the increase in tonnage and couldn’t accept additional waste, Marlow said the county would be looking at hauling waste to Terre Haute, Greensburg, Clark County or Evansville.
In getting a tonnage increase, board member Mike Reynolds estimated Rumpke would be looking at an additional 120 semi loads a week based on a 25-ton load and the increase in tonnage in a six-day workweek.
Marlow said there would be more semi loads a week, but he had not calculated exactly how many additional semi loads Rumpke would receive.
“We have roughly 45 drivers out of our district, and then we have drivers from Columbus that serve us, as well,” Marlow said.
Debbie Hackman, executive director of the Jackson County Solid Waste Management District, spoke in support of Rumpke’s tonnage increase.
“I don’t think this increase in tonnage will make any difference in how they (Rumpke) will keep their property,” Hackman said.
She said unlike most solid waste districts around the state, the Jackson County Solid Waste District is funded through a tipping fee of $1 per ton of waste disposed of at the Medora Landfill instead of property tax dollars.
In 2020, the solid waste district received $418,000 in tipping fees, but the daily increase on tonnage could eventually see the district receive as much as $624,000 a year.
“That money pays for recycling programs in the county,” Hackman said. “It’s also used to buy equipment for the cities and municipalities.”
Hackman also clarified that Atomic Transport trucks carry Indiana waste that is taken to a transfer station in Louisville, and then puts it on semis and takes back to the Medora Landfill.
“Instead of running those trucks back and forth through Clark and Scott County, they go to Louisville and put (waste) on Atomic trucks. Then we just have one truck with a semi load instead of a lot,” Hackman said.
Other than Hackman, no one spoke in favor or against the amendment.
After the amendment was approved, Seth Pollert gave a positive comment on the tonnage increase.
“Good waste management is essential to the community, and Rumpke has proven that they do a very good job, and I believe that they will continue to do so,” he said.
Cummings said Rumpke is a “top-notch organization” and was looking ahead when seeking a tonnage increase.
The dissenting vote came from Hinton, who voiced his opposition to the amendment.
“I think Rumpke does a really good job. I just don’t like the extra traffic we’re going to have on (State Road) 250,” he said.