Waste management in Centre County is due for a change next year after the county Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed to switch to a new landfill site.
Starting on Jan. 1, 2023, the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority will haul its waste to the Laurel Highlands Landfill in Cambria County. Currently, county waste is transported to the Greentree Landfill in Elk County.
The new waste management policy comes as Centre County nears the end of its current longstanding deal. On Tuesday, commissioners agreed to pass the amended waste management ordinance, which replaced and superseded the existing ordinance that dates back to 2003.
Centre County’s new waste management ordinance will last for at least a decade, officials said on Tuesday. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requires 10-year disposal agreements.
Joanne Shafer, the Centre County Solid Waste Authority’s deputy director and recycling coordinator, said trash hauling rates in the area likely will increase once the new ordinance takes effect.
“I would be safe in saying that rates will most likely go up,” said Shafer. “We had a really good deal over the last 10 years with Greentree, not that the new one isn’t good. It certainly is. It was the best economic and environmental response to the [request for proposal], but my guess is that prices will be going up slightly, absolutely.”
