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
Bagged waste may spontaneously combust at landfill, says council
An issue has arisen in Moorcroft due to several residents arguing that the Public Works Department cannot tell them what can be put in their garbage receptacles, specifically referring to yard waste. The council, however, is concerned that yard waste could cause spontaneous fires at the landfill.
The problem came to the fore because a number of residents have been putting their lawn debris in the dumpsters for household waste and even packing the matter into plastic garbage bags to be picked up and hauled to the landfill.
At last week’s meeting of the town council, Councilman Dale Petersen read State Statute 4-2009, section 18-102 (a), saying in part, “The town public works commissioner or his designee should have the authority to determine from time to time what items will not be accepted for collection and or disposal at the town landfill.”
With that authority validated, the council wants citizens to understand the sound reasoning behind the prohibition of lawn debris.
Lawn waste is biodegradable matter and, as it decomposes, it creates methane gas; closing this material up in plastic garbage bags or burying it in the landfill among household garbage can and has repeatedly caused spontaneous fires. Mayor Dick Claar reminisced that the Casper WY landfill burned, taking 25 homes, and it started by spontaneous combustion of the methane gas in the mixed garbage.
“That was about six or seven years ago and it’s still in litigation,” he said.
Public Works Director Cory Allison noted that Gillette recently lost a $3 million garbage truck because a plastic bag containing yard waste set fire and burned the vehicle “to the ground”. He explained that the safe method of transporting and managing yard waste is to haul it open in a pickup or trailer to the “burn pit” to be properly destroyed.
For those who do not have access to a pickup, the town is exploring other options including setting aside a day every couple of weeks for public works to appropriately haul the debris to the dump. Their conclusions will be discussed at the next meeting.
