The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
A month after the closing of the Moorcroft landfill, Moorcroft Mayor Ben Glenn says it is still too soon to realize the full ramifications of the closure.
However, speaking to the obvious disadvantage to most people, he says, “You can’t just go to the dump any time you want and throw whatever you need away; now, we’re reliant on a company to take our trash for us.”
The town’s Public Works Director, Cory Allison concurs, “The residents of Moorcroft don’t have a place to take their trash and Pine Haven especially; a lot of those guys hauled their trash out there and paid to dump it instead of buying dumpsters.”
Allison noted that a small advantage can be seen in the hours maintenance crews save by the cut in time spent caring for the landfill.
The mayor, though, realizes the greatest advantage overall, “Moorcroft doesn’t have to foot the bill for county residents to have a landfill – which is a negative and a positive. I think…it will lower a little bit, our operating costs throughout the years for the town itself.”
Glenn also spoke candidly about the greatest disadvantage to the community, saying, “We’ve always liked to be self-reliant when we could, I think the costs will just start to go up because the options are fewer. When there are 200 landfills, the cost stays down, and when there are two landfills, the costs go up. It becomes more about tonnage and yardage and how much it’ll take.”
“The cost got to be too great, too big a project for us to handle on our own,” Glenn expressed his disappointment in the lack of support from the Crook County Commissioners, “because it truly was not just a Moorcroft landfill, it was a Crook County landfill.”
This sentiment seems, even yet, a sore point with council and staff alike.
However, with this new direction and the unlined construction and demolition (C&D) pit available in that area, Glenn advocates, “I do believe it’s important for the citizens of Moorcroft to be able to take their tree limbs, couches, chairs and white goods (stoves, washers, etc) somewhere local and close – not rely on a company to come get it.”
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has provided a list of what can be dumped in this pit and a list of unacceptable items.
These lists can be reviewed on townofmoorcroft.com or people are invited to drop by Town Hall for a copy.
Not adhering to these lists can result in Moorcroft paying for purification processes if the water table becomes contaminated so those taking items to the C&D pit are advised to familiarize themselves with these lists and keep them on hand.
“Make sure we’re compliant with what they can take and what they can’t take,” the mayor also recommends, “No household garbage – no soup cans, no baby diapers, nothing like that.”