By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Strong Kansas winds do not provide many favors. That is especially true for landfill staff. As part of a 2009 resolution, the Barton County Landfill closes when wind speeds are sustained at 30 miles per hour, gust above 35 miles per hour, before a forecasted wind of at least 40 miles per hour, or when the National Weather Service issues a "high wind" warning for the area.
The landfill does not accept trash on those days, nor does it stop working. Solid Waste Director Jennifer Hamby said staff can do a few things to prevent trash from blowing around, including using an alternative daily cover machine.
"It sprays a coat of, it's almost kind of like cement; it's a paper-and-water mixture," she said. "We spray a real thick layer over the trash, and that will hold it down. We actually do that every single day at the end of the night. If it's really windy, we may just go ahead and cover it with a six-inch layer of dirt."
For any litter that escapes the cover, there's yet another option to keep the area clean: litter screens.
"They're really tall screens that we set up depending on where the wind blows," Hamby said. "We can take the blade of the compactor, lift them, and just move them around. If the winds are out of the south, we'll put them on the north end, and that should catch a lot of the trash, and vice versa."
The trash never sleeps, and Hamby said the days after a shutdown can be quite hectic with the various trash haulers playing catch-up. Hamby also reminded citizens that it is state regulation to secure and cover personal trash loads on their way to the landfill.