Landfill

The Washington County Forty West Landfill now accepts used and unused cooking oils from county residents for recycling. Commercial oils will not be accepted from restaurants or other businesses. Cooking oils may be brought to the recycling area during normal facility hours, and placed into the designated tank adjacent to the recycle lot attendant building. Any type of liquid vegetable oil may be accepted for recycling such as peanut, corn, canola, olive and safflower. Animal fats and grease will not be accepted.

“Way to go, Mr. Murray and your county commissioners. Punish recyclers with fees and/or inconvenience. Reward those who have no problem loading up the landfill with valuable resources. Are you saving our tax dollars for the next cell in the landfill? Or maybe to continue funding the 'airport'? What do we stand up for in this county? I believe I smell garbage.” - Washington County “Today's Smithsburg caller assumes that our local officials never met with officials from Frederick.

Washington County is cutting back operating hours at its four landfill transfer stations to help reduce operating costs in the county's Solid Waste Department, county spokeswoman Sarah Lankford Sprecher said. Starting Feb. 13, the transfer stations at Dargan, Greensburg, Hancock and Kaetzel will be closed on Mondays and will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The stations already are closed on Sundays. The current hours vary, but the change will mean most stations will be open at least 30 fewer minutes per day. The landfill transfer stations are staffed drop-off points for trash and recyclables from county residents.

The City of Hagerstown's decision to send its trash to a landfill in Pennsylvania will cost Washington County's landfill about 10 percent of its tipping fee income, according to a county spokeswoman. In 2011, the city disposed of about 11,820 tons of residential waste at the county-owned Forty West Landfill, paying $603,026 in tipping fees, county spokeswoman Sarah Lankford Sprecher said. But on Jan. 1, the city switched to a new trash-collection contractor, Waste Management of Pennsylvania, which takes the garbage to Mountainview Landfill in Upton, Pa. “It is the prerogative of the city to do what they feel is in their best interest,” Sprecher said.

Testing of discolored water seeping from the ground in the area of Washington County's Old City/County Landfill into Conococheague Creek revealed an arsenic level almost double that of the Environmental Protection Agency's standard for drinking water, a Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman said. At MDE's request, Washington County has hired a contractor to investigate the issue and develop a remedial action plan, MDE spokesman Jay Apperson said. An Aug. 3 sample of the seep area was found to have 17 parts per billion of arsenic, Apperson said.

At noon today, motorists will notice a new traffic signal at the intersection of U.S. 11 and Swamp Fox Road (Pa. 914). Greg Cook, chairman of the Guilford Township Supervisors, said initially that the light will flash amber to slow traffic. But, on Wednesday, the signal will begin to operate normally. With Waste Management's planned expansion of its landfill near Upton, Pa., Waste Management spokeswoman Cheryl Shields said the signal provides a safer route for trucks hauling waste from Interstate 81 north to the landfill.

Address: 12630 Earth Care Road (off U.S. 40 about one mile west of Huyetts Crossroads) Hours: 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday Vehicles crossing scales should arrive before 3 p.m. Mulch and compost sales 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Residential permit sales 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 1. Dual-stream recycling bins Location: At the center of the landfill's residential recycling area are two green...

For the past decade, Chambersburg officials have been searching for ways to integrate renewable energy sources into its utility portfolio. On Monday night, they took steps toward that goal. By a unanimous vote, the Chambersburg Borough Council entered into a 10-year agreement with PPL Renewable Energy to build a methane-to-electricity power generating station at the Blue Ridge Landfill in Greene Township. The deal, which will begin in 2013 and run through 2022, will provide 6.4-megawatts of power at a fixed price of $63 per hour with no additional delivery or congestion fees because the power will run straight into the borough's substation near the Walker Road exit on Interstate 81. "This is locally produced sustainable recycled energy improving the environment, providing a benefit to the landfill and all the electric customers in Chambersburg," council president Bill McLaughlin said in a news release.

The Washington County Purchasing Department will be sending apologetic letters to 12 companies after a contract-renewal mixup left the officials no choice but to reject all the proposals for a landfill-monitoring services contract. "I feel really bad on behalf of these folks who have spent money (preparing proposals), and now we're going to say, 'Oops, we're really sorry, but you wasted your money,'" County Commissioner Ruth Anne Callaham said Tuesday when Purchasing Agent Karen R. Luther told the commissioners of the mistake.