A growing city is great for the local economy. More jobs, more diversity, but also more trash! For every person in the Kansas City metropolitan area over one ton of trash is disposed of. This number equates to nearly seven pounds of trash per person per day.
We are all aware of our weekly trash pickup day. Every week a large trash truck comes through the neighborhood, picks up our trash cans, and throws it into the back of the truck. For most of us this is where the journey of our trash ends. For the waste company it is just the beginning.
After the hauler finishes their route, they end their day at a local transfer station. The goal of a transfer station is to allow waste companies to travel less distance than they would if they went all the way to the actual landfill. The most common used transfer station in Kansas City is the WCA transfer station located off Truman Road and the 435 freeway.
At the transfer station the trash is compacted and piled into a larger truck that then transports the waste to the landfill or material recovery facility. This facility is in Harrisonville, MO. This is located 35 miles south of Kansas City. You can imagine how much effort it would take if every trash truck had to drive to Harrisonville daily. The goal of a transfer station is not only to save time but also emissions. Less trucks on the road, less carbon footprint.
WCA Transfer Station, Harrisonville
It is at the Kansas City Landfill where all the magic happens. When the larger transfer station truck arrives, it enters a large facility where it dumps all trash onto the floor. These huge piles of trash are getting ready for sorting through a maze of front loaders, conveyor belts, and sorting machines.
Once in a pile a large front load tractor picks up the trash to start the process. From here the debris is sorted into recyclable versus non-recyclable. The trash is then transported up the large hill to be dumped.
Though landfills look like small mountains, they have a lot going on. Of the 14 active landfills in Missouri the majority use a modern layering system in their design. This allows for safe isolation of waste its byproducts.
This system protects the water and air near the landfill to prevent harm to us or the environment. The bottom layer of a landfill consists of plastic liners that prevents anything from getting into the groundwater. These liners can be clay, plastic, and/or concrete.
Though your trash ends up at the landfill a lot of time and energy goes into making sure the waste is taken care of in a proper fashion. Local Kansas City dumpster rentals are an integral part of keeping our busy lives on track. It is important to do all we can to keep Kansas City beautiful and thriving. So next time you pull your can to the curb, or fill up a dumpster, you now know where it is headed!
