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7772 KY 815
Owensboro KY 42301
Phone: 270-229-4484
Monday-Friday 7:00am to 4:00pm
Saturday 7:00am to Noon
About
Located on over 875 acres of rolling hills, piney woods and clear lakes in western Daviess County, near the community of West Louisville, the West Daviess County Landfill is home to most operations of the Daviess County Solid Waste Department. The area is home to three old landfills used from the 1970s through 1994. It also is the main office of the Solid Waste Department.
The West Daviess County Contained Landfill is a 50 acre synthetic-lined, contained landfill that meets or exceeds State and Federal requirements. Over 175,000 tons of waste is accepted annually serving the disposal needs of Western Kentucky and Southwestern Indiana. There is an additional undeveloped 30 acres in our waste permit boundary. At current usage rates the permitted boundary contains enough landfill space to last until 2040.
The landfill is a series of working areas called “cells”, into which the waste is placed and compacted each day. Trucks bring the solid waste to these working areas and empty into these areas. Then using a combination of heavy equipment, such as a trash compactor, the solid waste is moved into position and compacted into place. At the end of work each day, the working area is covered by a 120 foot x 120 foot tarp. This temporary cover is necessary to prevent the waste from being disturbed until work can be resumed. Soil cover is used if the work area will not be revisited within the next working day.
Environmental concerns are addressed by the installation of a liner and leachate collection system located beneath each cell. In addition all landfill gas (methane) is collected and burned off in accordance to Title V (Clean Air Act) requirements. The Department will install power generators to create electricity from the methane once methane output reaches the appropriate level.
In addition to the main facility, a 20 acre Residual (Construction and Demolition Debris) Landfill is also operated and maintained by Daviess County. Over 50,000 tons of waste is received annually at this landfill, which has an additional undeveloped 20 acres in its waste permit boundary.
The Residual Landfill was created to divert construction debris from the contained landfill. We accept all types of construction debris here. Some of the material we accept are, wood, block, brick, insulation, roofing, quartered tires, cardboard, metal conduit, or most anything associated with the building trade. Solid waste cannot be placed at this landfill. The working area consists of a open area approximately 100 feet x 100 feet, all other areas must be covered by soil.
The county, as part of its recycling/environmental program, has an 8 acre composting facility which uses sewer sludge and yard waste to create over 1,500 tons of Class I compost each year. The County sells compost for $12.75 for 3/4 cubic yard bucket.
The Composting Operation was started to divert the yard waste we were receiving away from the contained landfill. Yard waste that is placed in the contained landfill takes space that can be utilized for the placement of trash and is a wasted renewable resource. Once the yard waste arrives at the composting operation area, it is stored in piles until needed. The typical types of yard waste we receive include leaves, wood chips and limbs. Some of these items must be ground to a suitable size before being included in our compost recipe.
When the time is right, depending on the recipe used, these raw materials are precisely combined into windrows with measured amounts of biosolid material. Each windrow is then turned using a machine called a scarab. The scarab uses rotating blades to combine the ingredients so that an even distribution of each material is achieved. The windrows are then left to cook.
Cooking temperatures must reach a level above 132 deg. F. for a period of at least 15 days before they may be considered as finished product. We allow each windrow to achieve this temperature for a period of 30 days, while turning each windrow at least 5 times in order to create the optimum oxygen content. After each batch has met the requirements for temperature and time, the windrows are moved off the cooking pad and into stockpiles ready to be sold. All the compost that we make is randomly sampled and then sent to an independent lab to be tested. The department is currently seeking a Landfarming permit to divert more biosolid material from the Contained Landfill and growing hay which can be used in composting.
We pride ourselves on being and becoming environmentally friendly while at the same time operating an efficient landfill. Vast areas of the landfill property are allowed to develop naturally in order to create a habitat for native species of Kentucky wildlife. On any given day you can expect to find wild turkey, deer, geese, ducks, fox, beaver, along with numerous other forms of wildlife. Our lakes abound with fish including bass, bluegill and catfish among the more desirable. Please note that no hunting or fishing is allowed on landfill property.
