The Spencer landfill transfer station, which is part of the state’s Environmental Managed System will be making some changes this summer regarding materials that the public can drop off for disposal. Spencer Finance Director and Deputy City Manager Brian Wueve explained that, come July, the landfill will no longer accept recyclable cardboard and electronic waste, also known as e-waste. Wueve defined e-waste as anything with a circuit board. He went on to say that the materials in circuit boards, such as lead, lithium and zinc sulfide, contribute to the pollution of the area.
Weuve went on to say that a core team of eight representatives from city departments, including both department heads and line staff, had proactively identified the reduction of cardboard and e-waste in the landfill as an objective. Weuve explained that both materials are highly recyclable.
“On the cardboard side, we’re coming into the game a little late. I would say the majority of landfills in Iowa have already banned cardboard,” Weuve said. “E-waste, as we get to that, more and more are joining each year. I would say a third of the landfills in the state have already banned it, with another third actively pursuing it because of environmental reasons.”
To explore the feasibility of banning recyclable cardboard and e-waste from the landfill, a study was conducted by Barker LeMar Engineering Consultants, a Des Moines firm. The firm visually inspected waste loads, including those from other transfer stations in the regional EMS, on two separate days.
“I think they pulled out 16 truckloads that were coming in. They were sure to get at least one from each of the contributing sources,” Weuve said.
Citing the firm’s report, Weuve indicated that banning recyclable cardboard and e-waste was feasible and would be beneficial to the landfill. He went on to estimate that the ban would divert 630 cubic yards of cardboard from the landfill each year. To lend some perspective to the number, Weuve explained that this is approximate to eight semitrailers.
The high volume of cardboard was somewhat unsurprising to Ward 2 Councilman Bill Orrison.
“I think, with the advent of Wal-Mart and Amazon, the amount of cardboard that we get hauled into this town, because of people buying online, undoubtedly is significantly greater than it was 24 months ago,” Ward 2 Councilman Bill Orrison said.
Similarly, the study found that the ban could divert 128 tons of e-waste as well.
“There’s a little bit more of a disparity with e-waste than there is with cardboard. Currently, the city of Spencer and Emmet County are the only two entities (in the regional EMS) that accept e-waste for recycling,” Weuve said.
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