City ponders non-resident garbage rates

Since the closure of the Moorcroft landfill, the transfer station in Sundance has seen a “pretty big influx” of new customers, according to Public Works Director Mac Erickson.

He told the council last week that there is potential for this to become a problem.

“Unless we get a lot on those trailers, it’s costing us money,” he said, referring to the costs associated with hauling the trash from the transfer station to the landfill in Gillette.

The Gillette landfill charges $75 per ton for a municipality to dump its waste and Sundance charges $100 per ton to bring trash to the transfer station. The $25 difference, said Erickson, goes towards the transportation costs and equipment maintenance.

Council Member Brad Marchant expressed confusion that customers from the Moorcroft area would come to Sundance rather than take their trash directly to Gillette, where it costs individuals $80 per ton to dump. Erickson was not sure of the reason, but suggested they may be coming from the Pine Ridge side.

The transfer station was built to handle Sundance’s waste, said Erickson, not to service the entire county.

“The county wanted no part of it,” responded Mayor Paul Brooks, referring to the lack of interest in a countywide solid waste district.

The mayor expressed a desire to be proactive about preserving the city’s equipment, “So we can at least maintain what we have.”

Erickson informed the council that the initial influx in July, just after the Moorcroft landfill closed, did appear to die down slightly in August. He requested permission to track the quantities for an additional month to see whether things continue to slow.

If they do not, he suggested that the council might want to consider charging an increased amount for customers who do not have a city utility bill, in order to cover the extra cost of hauling and maintaining equipment.