To help combat litter at the Newton Sanitary Landfill, a portable fence was purchased to catch fly away trash.
The fence was recommended by city staff and landfill 28-E members following the landfill budget workshop meeting in January.
The landfill is required to pick up litter that leaves the active fill area daily. When litter is blown from the active fill area, it is dispersed over a large area making it difficult to keep up with litter collection.
If the litter becomes airborne, which is often the case with plastic bags and paper, it can be carried over the perimeter landfill fence. Currently, part-time staff collects the litter outside of the active fill area each day.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which inspects the landfill, has also noted on several occasions litter was getting away from the active fill area.
Public Works director Keith Laube said most landfills have tall fence structures around the dumping area that typically catch run away litter. Newton does not have any fences which leads litter to escape from its designated area.
In Newton, the active fill area of the landfill is constantly moving and winds are not always from the same direction for litter collection. By purchasing a portable fence, staff will be able to move it to accommodate where the trucks are dumping and the wind direction.
“It will help us save time picking up the litter,” Laube said. “Once it starts blowing across the landfill it can cover a large area.”
When selecting a fence, staff recommended a fence 120 feet in length and standing 12 foot high. Bids were received from three vendors including Coastal Netting Systems, Bakersfield, Calif. for $20,625.00, Tex-Net Inc., Florence, N.J. for $21,522.00 and Metta Technologies, Inc., Toledo, Ohio for $23,876.00.
The $20,625 bid from Coastal Netting Systems was selected and includes three 40 food sections of fence that can be linked together and pivoted to maximize catching windblown litter. The fence was paid for using funds from the landfill fund.
The fence is expected to arrive at the landfill in the next week.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com