With the City of Fort Stockton’s current landfill nearly filled, the plans for the new landfill are finishing up. Planners estimate it should last the city around 100 years. The project started with permitting five years ago, which included water and wildlife evaluations. The last of the permits were approved in 2019. “It’s not easy to get a landfill,” said Public Works Director Aaron Ramos.
The current landfill is limited to 20 tons of regular trash and 20 tons of construction or demolition material, brush and tree limbs a day. Officials plan to keep that limit at the new landfill. Originally, the city anticipated the current landfill being full by this spring, but Ramos said that the site won’t be full until the end of the year because more people have been recycling.
He has seen a big increase in people dropping off recycling items to the city’s recycling center, 604 N. Valentine St. – so much so that he had to add several more people to help at the center. Those opting to recycle have to take the initiative to bring items to the center and sort into respective bins. This part of the center is available 24 hours a day. Items are separated into categories – aluminum, glass, paper, cardboard and plastic.