LOGAN — The landfill here is quickly running out of space, and the city is on a tight deadline to find a new location. But residents near a proposed site for the new landfill are telling city officials to keep the garbage out.
The waste facility, on 200 N. 1400 West, serves all of Cache County. The massive amount of garbage, which totals more than 80 acres, is quickly approaching its expected capacity of 70 feet above ground.
City leaders said they will have to start moving garbage from the landfill to a new one within two years. The proposed location for a new landfill is about five miles outside of Clarkston, where residents say they don't want to deal with the smell and the increased traffic.
"We always have a wind coming through here in Clarkston, and it's going to blow trash everywhere," said resident Melissa Heiner.
"There was a truck that came through here the other day that was a county truck that I told them to slow down because it's 25 (mph) along here," Heiner said. "They were doing probably close to 50 miles per hour. I'm really concerned about the town of Clarkston and its children."
"There's kids right now — just young kids riding their bikes — playing," said resident Danny Godfrey. "That's another concern, that it would bring a lot of people out and affect that small-town way of living."
But Logan's Environmental Director Issa Hamud said there aren't many other options in Cache County and they need to find a new site soon.
"If we don't, we will get into a situation where we will continue to pick up the waste and collect it, and we don't have a location to dispose of it," said Hamud.
He said the best way to keep all of the trash out of sight and cause the least environmental impact is located in Clarkston.
"I do understand the concerns of the citizens in that area, but they are part of the solid waste community here, whereby we provide services," Hamud added.
But Clarkston residents are urging city officials to look somewhere else.
"This is our home," Heiner said. "We moved to Clarkston because it's a small town. It's quiet. It's away from town."
Initially, Logan communicated with Box Elder County to combine with its landfill, but the county rejected Logan's plan. Now, officials say the Clarkston site is the most viable of the options they have left.
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