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Butler County weighs new landfill cover material as prison mattress recycling ends
Summary
Public works staff told commissioners the county can accept shredded auto-processing byproduct as partial landfill cover and is scrambling to replace a prison-run mattress recycling program that will end Oct. 1, potentially raising disposal costs or requiring new regional solutions.
Butler County Director of Public Works Curtis Mater told the Board of County Commissioners that the county is negotiating a contract to accept a shredded byproduct from vehicle recycling as partial landfill cover while the state prison mattress-recycling program is ending Oct. 1, creating an immediate disposal gap.
The shift matters because under Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) rules the shredded auto byproduct can be used for up to half of required cover but must still be topped with soil; county staff said accepting the material could reduce hauling and produce modest revenue. At the same time, Helping Hands, which uses inmate labor at Hutchinson and El Dorado correctional facilities to strip and recycle mattresses, has been told by the prison system it must stop that operation by Oct. 1, leaving the county without its current mattress-processing outlet.
Mater said All Metal Recycling produces a ground remainder after…
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