Republic Services has unveiled its new and radically different plan for expanding the Coffin Butte landfill in northern Benton County. One big change is that the proposal keeps open and improves Coffin Butte Road rather than burying it under a mountain of trash.
If you live near the south end of Independence Highway in Benton County, or have driven there lately, you have noticed a sharp increase in truck traffic in the past few months.
A couple of members grumbled a little, but in the end the Albany City Council unanimously approved Republic Services’ price hike of 5.9 percent for trash collection and disposal in 2022.
Inflation is showing up in different places, and next year it will hit your bills for trash collection in Albany. Republic Services will increase its prices just under 6 percent starting Jan. 1, the company has told the city council.
The proposed expansion of the Coffin Butte Landfill occupied the Benton County Planning Commission for four hours on Tuesday night. It was a public hearing, but the public didn’t get to speak till a quarter to 10.
Republic Services wants to sharply increase the minimum fee for taking stuff to the Coffin Butte landfill, but the price of dumping is not the only issue that should concern the public.
What happens when Coffin Butte gets full?
Benton County officials will soon have to decide whether to allow the Coffin Butte landfill to expand. We all should think about the implications of that issue every time we throw something in the trash.
Tags: Benton County, Coffin Butte, dump, landfill, Republic Services, solid waste, trash disposal