CUSTOMER| A SALUTE TO AN CUSTOMER |
NORTH CENTRAL IOWA REGIONAL
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Each day, more than 300 tons of trash and recyclable materials make their way to Fort Dodge where they’re dumped and sorted at the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency. Recyclable materials eventually are moved to other locations to be turned into usable materials, but the bulk of the trash is placed and covered over in the landfill area.
County, drawing most of its garbage from the city of Fort Dodge. Today, the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency serves all or parts of six counties — a population base of nearly 79,000 — and handles close to 100,000 tons of materials per year.
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“It’s a lot of material to deal with, but we’re proud of how efficiently it’s handled,” said Director Gary Schmidt. “It takes a combined effort of everyone here to make it happen, plus a lot of careful planning to make sure we meet all requirements and regulations.” At the same time recycling operations began, Schmidt was hired as Director to manage onsite operations. With the amount of material coming in continuing to grow, the agency made longtime employee Deb Watson the Assistant Director last year. In addition to her duties as office manager, she oversees the recycling end of the agency’s efforts. Watson serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the 11-member Executive Board that oversees all aspects of the agency, including such items as the budget. “The recycling operations are here in the building where I am, so it’s natural for me to be in that role and Gary takes care of the outside operations at the landfill. It’s a nice mix.” Recycling efforts grow Watson estimates the recycling center takes in about 6,500 cubic yards of recyclable items each month. It doesn’t collect materials, but serves as a dropping point for area counties, cities and private individuals. “It comes to us in everything from pickups to recycling trailers,” Watson related. “Drop boxes |
Using a Komatsu D65EX-15SL landfill dozer, an operator levels out trash at the landfill
The machines are equipped with extra guarding and plating for the tough conditions.
The North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste
Agency is a twofold entity that’s seen significant
growth in its operations during the past 15 years.
One part involves a regional landfill, which went
into operation in the early 1990s, the other is a
regional recycling center that’s been collecting
reusable materials since 1990.
The total tonnage has increased considerably
since the landfill opened operations in the early
1970s. At that time, it only served Webster