Peak Oil Task Force Report - City of Bloomington - State of Indiana

From early November to late December, residents are afforded three options to dispose of
their leaves:
• City Sanitation crews will collect yard waste every week on your scheduled trash
day in the free leaf collection bags;
• Residents can drop leaves off at any of five collection sites; and
• The Street Division provides a curbside leaf pick up on a regular basis Monday
through Friday.
While the leaves collected by the City are taken to Good Earth for composting, the leaves
collected by the Street division are taken to a decommissioned City wastewater plant
contaminated by PCBs where the leaves are used for fill.
The City’s Sanitation Division owns approximately 17 vehicles. In 2008, the Division
consumed 1,584.84 gallons of unleaded and 24,475.79 gallons of diesel. The Sanitation
Division has gone to a condensed work week of four 10‐hour work days and has cut its
unleaded fuel costs by 37%. Its diesel costs have remained largely unchanged, despite
increasing fuel prices.
Until recently, much of the solid waste generated locally was taken to the Monroe County
Landfill, which was operated by the Monroe County Solid Waste Management District.
However, the landfill suspended operations during the summer of 2004 after it erupted
into flames. It was subsequently closed and is under contract to remain closed until 2024.
At present, the majority of the City’s solid waste is hauled to Sycamore Ridge Landfill,
located in Pimento, IN (Vigo County), about 55 miles from Bloomington.
In 2007, 159,968 tons of solid waste was generated in Monroe County. 82 Based on U.S.
Census figures, Bloomington residents constitute about 56% of the Monroe County
population. 83 Therefore, we might estimate that Bloomington residents generated about
82Indiana Department of Environmental Management, 2007 Solid Waste Facilities Report
http://www.in.gov/idem/files/solid_waste_far07.pdf
83 U.S. Census Bureau; Indiana Business Research Center
Report of the Bloomington Peak Oil Task Force
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