Wind turbine blades won’t be buried in the Logan County landfill any longer. Although no vote was taken, the Logan County Commissioners were in agreement that a prohibition of the blades was in order.
Matt Chrisp, landfill supervisor, told the commissioner the landfill has accepted three blades in the past eight years, and all of them were from outside the county. Chrisp said the blades have to be cut into 10-foot lengths so the county’s equipment can handle them.
Board Chairman Joe McBride asked whether a chipper at the landfill could be used to grind up the blades. Chrisp said the chipper would handle the blades but there is the danger of toxic particles from the blades getting into the air.
Commissioner Byron Pelton told the board Lincoln County has banned wind turbine blades from its landfill, mostly because there isn’t enough trash to cover them and they lay exposed for long periods of time. Chrisp added that Kit Carson County also bans them, and Wyoming has legislatively prohibited disposal of the blades in any landfill in that state.
Chrisp told the commissioners it would be easier for his people if the blades were just banned altogether so staffers wouldn’t have to take time to find out where the blades are from. He said he would need some documentation from the commissioners to enforce such a ban.