The countdown is on at the Linn County landfill, it鈥檚 on pace to be fill up in 2037. The Linn County landfill typically takes in 500 to 600 tons of garbage every single day, but in 2037 it鈥檒l be all out of space to put it. 2037 may seem like it鈥檚 a long way away, but Solid Waste Deputy Director Joe Horaney said it鈥檚 a race against the clock.
鈥淔or us, planning-wise, it feels like it鈥檚 almost tomorrow because when it comes to garbage, whatever you鈥檙e gonna do with it, it does take a lot of time. There鈥檚 a lot of zoning, there鈥檚 permitting that goes into it. So it鈥檚 gonna take every bit of that 11 years to figure out what that next step is gonna be,鈥� Horaney said.
The Solid Waste Agency鈥檚 board has already decided it won鈥檛 make another landfill in Linn County. So when the current spot is full, it鈥檒l act as a transfer site, meaning garbage will be taken there and then shipped out elsewhere. The problem is, that method is considerably more expensive.