(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a series of articles about the Solid Waste Management Plan that was adopted by the Barton County Commission this week.)

Several months of effort went before the decision was reached this week to approve the county’s extension of its Solid Waste Management Plan, and that is important to everyone in the county, because it is through the application of this plan that the county’s landfill will continue in operation.
And without that landfill, Barton County would be forced to truck its trash — and that would cost us a lot.
Solid Waste Department Director Mark Witt explained the plan review was carried out according to state regulations and it allows the county to reestablish its status as a state-approved facility.
The planning process touched on such topics as recycling, population, economic standards and more.
As a part of the planning process, the county considered where it stands with its current fees.
Witt noted it appears the tipping fees that are charged should be able to remain constant for at least the next year or two, in part because of the past year’s business. “The landfill had a very good year last year,” Witt reported, adding it had taken in additional material from demolitions and construction sites that added to its fees, putting the year’s totals significantly over what had been projected.
But efforts also continue to keep the costs down for the facility, and that will be accomplished by maintaining an active recycling effort, which will help to keep materials from filling up the landfill too quickly, Witt explained.
Now that the plan has been adopted by the county officials, it will move on to be considered by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.