Iowa waste authority close to decision on allowing yard waste in landfills
By Cole Rosengren, Waste Dive.
Dive Brief:
- Iowa's Metro Waste Authority (MWA) - an intergovernmental agency which services Polk County and 16 area cities - will decide on Wednesday whether to end the decades-old "Compost It" program for yard waste.
- The material is currently collected separately, but the MWA may begin commingling it with waste at landfills with methane-capture systems. The agency estimates this could save up to $2 million per year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting truck traffic for separate collections.
- While many residents are supportive, some local environmental groups are skeptical of the gas collection technology and concerned with potential methane leaks.