Solid waste director warns about rising hauling, leachate and recycling costs as borough prepares new concentrator

Solid Waste Director Tim Crumrine briefed the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on May 19 on the department’s FY‑26 budget and long-term challenges, stressing rising hauling costs, recycling market instability and leachate management as the top issues.

Cruchrine said the department’s near-term emphasis is “returning to sort of the basics of solid waste — really landfilling waste in a cost‑effective, efficient, and safe manner.” He also reported that construction of a larger leachate concentrator is under way to handle the borough’s inventory; the new unit is sized at about 30,000 gallons per day, replacing an older 12,000‑gallon unit.

The director and staff described three cost drivers affecting operations: higher haulage and fuel costs; increasingly constrained backhaul markets and recycling endpoints that raise per‑ton disposal costs; and aging infrastructure at multiple remote sites that will require greater capital spending.

Crucial operational details discussed included new payment software that will accept credit cards for chargeable loads, continuing leachate hauling agreements with the City of Kenai (intermittent allowances up to 20,000 gallons per day), and capital investments including baler maintenance, cell repairs and equipment replacements. Crumrine also said the department is exploring options such as more localized compaction/packer truck models and altered transfer-station routes to reduce hauling miles and costs.

Assembly members and the mayor asked for a future work session to dig into options for recycling, hauling contracts and regulatory constraints; the mayor suggested the administration and department prepare a more comprehensive presentation on alternatives and tradeoffs before broader policy decisions are made.

No formal action was taken during the work session.