Amidst Growth of Privately-Owned Landfills, Chester County Takes Out Its Own Trash

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Image of Lanchester Landfill via the Chester County Solid Waste Authority.

Although private ownership of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills is on the rise, Chester County has set up an authority to own and run its landfills, writes Arlene Karidis for Waste360.

Government entities like this are starting to become more common. Their goal is to control disposal capacity and tipping fees.

The Chester County Solid Waste Authority currently services 49 of the region’s 73 municipalities and contracts with private haulers. According to Bob Watts, its executive director, it has not had to raise tipping fees in a decade, as they currently pay for all of the authority’s operations.

While other authorities and private companies have issues with achieving profitability, Chester County has implemented flow control ordinance to assure capacity, while maintaining control.

But the authority does have some challenges such as distance from densely populated areas, which causes longer operating hours.

“Our flow control ordinance differs from privately run operations because private market participants must find waste to meet their financial needs, where we are assured a certain capacity,” said Watts. “Waste has decreased due to recycling, but we’ve continued to pay our bills.”

Read more about the Chester County Solid Waste Authority from Waste360 here.

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