Texas landfill pursues 100-year expansion plan

Phoenix-based Republic Services has broached the idea of an expansion at a landfill near Amarillo, Texas, that would provide the landfill with up to 100 years of life.

A mid-December 2016 online news item from the Amarillo-based NewsChannel 10 website says Republic and the city manager of Canyon, Texas, have been discussing an expansion plan for the Southwest Landfill near Canyon.

According to the news report, “The city [of Canyon] does not expect an increase in garbage collection fees or changes in how the Southwest Landfill operates” if the expansion takes place.

As currently configured, Southwest Landfill may only have capacity to operate for another 10 years, says NewsChannel 10. Canyon City Manager Randy Criswell is quoted as saying the proposed expansion “will basically triple the size [of the landfill and] enable [it] to take waste for what they believe could be up to 100 years from today.”

Although the landfill is described as being just “a couple miles north of downtown Canyon,” Criswell considers that a positive, saying it “allows us to keep our solid waste collection and disposal costs cheaper than they would be if we had to operate our own landfill.”

The news item notes that housing subdivisions are being built near the landfill, and Criswell is quoted as saying it has not hampered development. He says of Republic’s operation of the Southwest Landfill, “You don't see trash blowing, you don't smell anything. They do a very good job of operating that landfill. I think overall it's a benefit for us to have it there.”