If the Marquette County Solid Waste Authority gets its way, there won't be any more shingles filling the landfill and the environment will be a little better because of it.
Shingles are now required to be separated from other solid waste before being brought to the landfill, says Rick Aho, the MCSWA supervisor. Haulers who comply will be rewarded with a fee of $30 per ton for the shingles, versus the regular $38.50 per ton for typical solid waste loads. Those companies that choose to not separate the shingles will be charged $60 per ton for mixed loads.
"Shingles take up room in the landfill and they don't work well in the system we have here," says Aho. "Shingles don't break down because they're not designed to. They don't let water past them because they're water proof. They just take up room."
The Marquette County Solid Waste Authority landfill is unique in the United States as the only "wet" landfill. It uses a specially-designed system that treats the waste, breaking it down through the use of leachate water. The process extends the life of the landfill past a typical "dry" landfill that is designed to be buried and hidden instead of broken down.
Shingles work against that process, which is why the MCSWA has implemented the new program. Aho says the shingles will be send to Payne and Dolan, which will melt the shingles down and use them in their blacktopping mix for commercial and non-Michigan Department of Transportation jobs.
The MCSWA is also accepting batteries of any kind for recycling. They can be turned over to landfill employees at any household hazardous waste drop off location.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Rick Aho, MCSWA
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