JACKSON'S TRANSFER STATION TO START SOON

JACKSON -- A new transfer station could be operational by the middle of September.

The transfer station, which will be operated by Allied Waste Management, the city's trash hauler, is under construction in the Jackson Industrial Park near the city's wastewater plant.

Bob Doyle, district manager for Lemmon's Waste Systems, Allied's local component, said the company has applied to the state for inspection of the new site, "which should be in the middle of September." And, "after that, we should be ready to rock and roll," he said.

The city's landfill closed in October. Since then, solid waste has been hauled to a transfer station in Cape Girardeau and from there to Lemmon's landfill in Dexter.

Once operational, Doyle said, between 50 and 100 tons of solid waste should be hauled from the transfer station daily.

In 1995, Allied hauled 5,591 tons of residential and commercial solid waste from city residents and businesses, city administrator Steve Wilson said.

Wilson said the city is negotiating the tipping fees it will pay for having trash hauled to the Dexter landfill.

Having the transfer station in the city will save on transportation costs and help keep tipping fees down because Allied will be able to market the station to residents or trash haulers in the surrounding area, he said.

"I'm putting a garbage truck up there and starting to build into that market," Doyle said. "Whatever other customers there are from around the area are welcome to use it."

Wilson said the city has also met with representatives of another waste hauler to discuss costs.

Figuring out what to do with solid waste has become a headache in some communities, but Doyle has two long-term landfills available in the area, including the one at Dexter and another near Poplar Bluff.

In some areas, costs for maintaining and permitting landfills have risen to the point where it is no longer feasible for cities or trash haulers to operate them, Doyle said. In other cases, residential and commercial trash hauling costs have increased to cover higher landfill costs.