Who's the Boss?

In a community where there are no recycling facilities, the alternative to composting is sending all waste to the county landfill.  What are the rules at the landfill, and who makes and enforces them?  What about all of the compostable material that regularly shows up at the landfill?

In Juab County, the landfill is regulated by the Juab Rural Development Agency.  This is the agency that applies for and obtains permits from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.  This agency is headed by the County Administrator, who holds an administrative role in most of the counties interests, including the duties of the elected County Commissioners.  It appears that overseeing the landfill is the main purpose of the Juab Rural Development Agency. 

Keeping the landfill at its current classification in order to avoid higher fees is a goal of the Juab Rural Development Agency.  This has motivated the agency to require residents to separate yard waste from household waste.  Yard waste includes lawn clippings, branches, leaves and other plant life (Dopp).  There is a separate designated area at the dump for yard waste (JRDA Landfill Rules). 

In an effort to keep the overall tonnage at the landfill as low as possible, some communities in the county have designated “Green Dumps” where residents can take their yard waste.  The rules of the Levan Town Green Dump state acceptable items as “grass clippings, weeds, brush, garden vegetation, branches, and weeds” and prohibited items as “animal carcasses, concrete, metal, construction materials/scraps, plastic, bricks, stones, rocks, asphalt, and household waste and garbage including baby diapers, furniture, toys, and food.” The “Green Dump” page on the Levan Town website contains this warning, “If prohibited items continue to be dumped in our Green Dump area, it will end up having to be closed down” (Levan Town). In June of 2009 the Nephi Times News reported that the Mona City Council was discussing the possibility of a “Green Dump” for their town, but determined not to designate an area because of the likelihood that it would just turn into a big garbage dump.  Nephi City closed its “Green Dump” for that exact reason.

City and town governments have experienced difficulty regulating what is dumped in a “Green Dump.”  Juab County would like to keep the landfill at its current classification in order to avoid the higher fees that come with increased tonnage.  A viable option for residents would be to participate in backyard composting, where a large percentage of their household and yard waste could be composted rather than being transported to the landfill. 

Dopp, Rebecca. “JRDA Requests Citizens Separate Residential Garbage from Yard Waste.” Nephi Times News. 17 June 2009.

“JRDA Landfill Policies.” Juab Rural Development Agency. www.co.juab.ut.us/Files/LANDFILLRATES.pdf. Accessed 16 June 2018.

“JRDA Landfill Rules.” Juab Rural Development Agency. www.co.juab.ut.us/Files/LandfillPolicies.pdf. Accessed 16 June 2018.

“Juab Rural Development Agency Solid Waste Facility Factsheet: Landfill” Utah Department of Environmental Quality. Businesses. https://deq.utah.gov/legacy/businesses/j/juab-rural-development-agency/fact-sheet-landfill.htm. Accessed 16 June 2018.

“Levan Town Green Dump” Levan Town, Juab County, Utah. Services. https://levantown.org/green-dump/ Accessed 16 June 2018.