Garbage has really come up in the world. Instead of being a huge embarrassment that is hidden away in landfills, more and more of it is being recycled and repurposed as consumer products, soil enhancers and compressed gas for vehicles.
In the future it might just end up fueling jet airplanes. One of those on the cutting edge of the business is El Dorado Disposal, which handles tons of garbage every year at its facility in Diamond Springs.
Owned by Waste Connections Inc. out of Texas, the firm has close to 40,000 customers on the Western Slope of El Dorado County. However only about 3,000 are commercial customers with the majority being residential.
Previously owned by Waste Management, in 2006 El Dorado Disposal was acquired by Waste Connections, according to Susan VanDelinder, district manager and division vice president Northern California Division of Waste Connections Inc. “I’m thrilled because now the business is run locally,” she said.
A busy place, VanDelinder said they drive between 55 and 60 routes a day and employ about 200 people with 100 of them at the Diamond Springs location. “We go up to Georgetown and Quintette and then all the way down to Somerset, east to Pollock Pines and west to El Dorado Hills,” she said.
Garbage In, Garbage Out, Recylables Back
Part of an ever evolving industry, El Dorado Disposal’s business has undergone a sea change over the years. For example, there is no landfill in the county although there used to be one south of El Dorado called the Union Mine dump.
Instead, what can’t be recycled or composted is sent to the Kiefer Landfill in Sacramento County; the Forward Landfill in San Joaquin County; or the Potrero Hills Landfill in Solano County.
Another big change is the emphasis on recycling. Since 1989 California has pushed to keep trash out of landfills with the long-term goal of having disposal companies recycle 75 percent of their waste by 2020. It’s a goal that those at the company say they will have no problem meeting.
A visit to the Material Recovery Facility, MRF for short, shows exactly how they are doing it, beginning with their customers. “Our trucks take in about 350 tons a day of garbage and most comes to the MRF,” said VanDelinder. “In a year we probably handle 100,000 tons. But we focus more on the separation of stuff curbside, which is why we have three containers — one for regular garbage, one for recyclables and one for green waste. Over the last three years we have made a concerted effort to roll out carts throughout the county.”
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