FMC Landfill

The FMC Landfill was originally a 120 Acre site purchased in 1972 for $50,500 and had only Floyd and Mitchell using it. The landfill grew in acres to 339 and took on the county of Chickasaw.

In 1973 it was important to find a site that was impermeable. The site of our current landfill has 80-90-foot clay base then bedrock. At that time waste was measured in cubic yards. In 1991 a 70’foot truck scale was installed, and all record keeping was computerized. Our current rate is $43 a ton, these are also referred to as “tipping fees”. A portion of these tipping fees are paid back to the IDNR each quarter.

The landfill’s operation is governed by a Board. One member from each municipality and one member from each of the counties Board of Supervisors. This Full Board is made up of 26 members. The day to day operations are run by the Executive Board. This 9 member board consists of one representative from each of the cities of Osage, Charles City and New Hampton appointed by the mayor of each such municipality: and one “at large” representative from each of the three counties appointed by the members of the agency Board from each county and one representative from each County appointed by each Board of Supervisors. This is set up in the By-laws signed in 2004.

This is a subtitle D landfill governed by the rules of the State of Iowa. A permit is completed every five years regarding all aspects of the landfill.

We also must complete a Comprehensive Plan every five years as well. The comprehensive plan is used to spell out for the IDNR how the planning area is addressing the waste volume reduction goals set by the state. Each planning area is mandated by state to reduce the volume of waste going into the landfill by 25% in the plan period.

We are inspected by the IDNR as needed and at least yearly. The current engineer company that works with the landfill is HLW Engineering. This company keeps us in compliance. They do an annual water report, financial assurance, general engineering, the new permit, and consult us on any issues we are unable to deal with. They inspect the landfill twice a year and report findings in their reports to the IDNR.

We are required to have monitor wells surrounding the landfill and monitor them twice a year with samples sent to a testing lab to assure that there is no contamination of water due to leaching from the cells.

Daily cover for the landfill consists of a material called “Topcoat”. This is a slurry spray made up of a fiber material to which water is added and each day the operator sprays this on to cover the waste. This is used to keep garbage from leaving the cell, keep vectors out, and keep rainwater from seeping in.
Dirt is used to cover the cell if left unused for more than 30 days a layer of 12 inches must be used. The “Topcoat” material helps to conserve soil, a minimum of 6”of soil or 3inches of “Topcoat” must be added at the end of every day.

All landfill operators must be certified by the state. This includes attending a 25 hour landfill operator course and then passing the state exam. Continued education units are required every two years to stay certified. We currently have five operators.

The landfill has an area that accepts Household Hazardous Waste. These wastes include chemicals, batteries and light bulbs. This is set up for residences in all the counties and small businesses.
Employees must be certified in order to work in this area of the landfill and are required to take an 8-hour refresher course yearly in order to maintain their certification.

There is an area of the landfill set up for accepting of appliances, tires and electronics. There is a charge for all these items to help offset the cost that the landfill incurs to recycle or dispose of these things. The most important asset of a landfill is and always will be its employees.

The most valuable commodity for a landfill is its air space. Gone are the days where you dug a big hole and filled it. Today compaction is very important, GPS keeps us on track and reduction of waste coming into the landfill by diverting and recycling are ways to continue to keep the landfill open. We are on our 3rd phase of a 7 phase cell, generally a minimum of 8 to10 years goes by before a new phase is built. Phases 1 and 2 are still opened with only the first Cell of the landfill (not lined area) being closed with the final cap and vegetation on it. It is estimated that this landfill currently has at least 40 years remaining use.