The Pitkin County Landfill is filling up, but officials hope to make it last an extra 10 years with an expansion.
Solid Waste manager Cathy Hall said recent studies show that the current landfill will hit capacity in about 14 years, but expanding into an adjacent ravine could allow for another decade of trash — if Pitkin County residents continue to produce about the same amount of garbage.
“But that could change,” Hall said. “We are seeing a steady increase in the amount of trash coming in, so that could take that 10 years down.”
The expansion is about two years off and still needs approval from county commissioners and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Hall said design work is likely to start this summer.
Hall estimates the expansion will cost $1.6 million and could generate an additional $12 million in revenue.
