Tama County Landfill staff pictured include (from left) Darla Thiessen, Dave Sherwood, Rod Radeke and Pat Bevins. Following the 2020 derecho, staff worked 12 hour days for two weeks straight to keep operations open at the landfill as clean-up efforts were delivering tons of debris and material to the landfill in a short amount of time. – Photo by Darvin Graham

As spring cleaning projects kick into gear in the coming weeks, area residents making a trip to the Tama County Landfill will be greeted with a new feature that looks to make the landfill more customer-friendly.

Landfill staff, in coordination with the Tama County Landfill Commission, have been preparing for close to three years for the construction of a convenience center area to the landfill. The $53,000 project has recently come to fruition and can be seen when entering the landfill on the north side of the drive just beyond the weigh station.

Although you can’t buy a bottle of pop or a lottery ticket at this convenience center, it nonetheless lives up to its name.

Previously, when customers would come to the landfill to dump refuse, they would need to drive their vehicle directly into the area where the waste was being compacted with the landfill’s industrial equipment.

Now those heading to the landfill to dump garbage are able to use the convenience center, which consists of an elevated concrete pad and two roll-off dumpsters resting against the side of the concrete. Customers are able to back their vehicle onto the concrete pad and dump their refuse into the dumpsters below without having to traverse the mud and the mess of the compacting area.

At the newly constructed convenience center at the Tama County Landfill (pictured), customers are able to back in their vehicles or trailers onto a concrete pad and then dump their load of landfill materials off a ledge into a pair of 30-yard roll-off dumpsters that staff are able to easily empty in the primary section of the landfill. The convenience center allows customers with smaller vehicles and trailers to use the landfill without the safety concerns of navigating the landfill pit where large loaders are operating and the potential for driving over a sharp object is greater. – Photo by Darvin

“It’s really been a win-win for customers and for us here at landfill,” Tama County Landfill Director Dave Sherwood said. “It’s helped make things safer and more efficient.”

Sherwood said even though the waste has to be moved from the roll-off dumpsters to the compacting area, the addition of the convenience center has provided a time savings for staff who previously would have to redirect or pick up after customers if they drove and dumped their waste in the wrong area.

The landfill convenience center can fit up to four vehicles at one time and is available to customers with cars, SUVs, pickup trucks and trailers without a dumping mechanism.

“I love it,” Landfill Employee Rod Radeke said. “With people using the convenience center we don’t have to worry about them interfering with the doors on our trucks and loaders as we’re out there working. It’s made things a lot safer and easier for everybody.”

Along with the construction of the convenience center, the landfill has undertaken or is working toward a handful of other improvements within the facility.

The scale house and office also recently received a small addition to the west side of the building that includes a conference room and an above-ground storm shelter.

Previously the Landfill Commission would hold their meetings in Tama at the county engineer’s office. Sherwood said adding space to host commission meetings at the landfill has been helpful so the group can easily see the areas they’re discussing.

The need for a storm shelter quickly became apparent following the 2020 derecho that destroyed some of the buildings at the landfill while staff were there working.

The damage estimate from the 2020 storm totaled around $170,000 and included damage to the landfill shop roof and damage to the recycling building that was totally demolished by the straight-line winds.

Not only did the landfill sustain significant damage of their own but they were also called upon throughout the weeks and months following the storm to process a drastically increased load of refuse that included all of the downed trees that were gathered in the communities of Toledo and Vining along with an untold amount of debris.

Instead of pulling vehicles into the main compacting area of the landfill to dump off refuse, landfill customers are able to back into a convenient unloading area where they don't have to walk through the mud and garbage can be thrown into a dumpster below the concrete ledge. -- Photo by Darvin Graham

Sherwood said following the storm he and his staff worked 12-hour days for two weeks straight to help keep the landfill operating with the increased demand from storm clean-up.

Now a year and a half later, plans have been made to reconstruct the recycling building later this year. Once complete it will also feature a new service dealing with chemical materials dropped off at the landfill.

A swap shop will be put into the new landfill recycling building that will give residents access to containers of things like paint, cleaners, oil and glue among other things that have been dropped off at the landfill but are otherwise unable to be deposited in the landfill. Such items will be available for free and on a first come, first served basis. Sherwood said he hopes to have the recycling building and the swap shop up and running later this year.

In a move to help finance the recent improvement projects, the landfill in January announced their minimum tipping fee for loads brought out to the landfill from $10 to $15.

For information and updates on the landfill, check out their Facebook page at Tama County Landfill. The Tama County Landfill is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. For questions about landfill services call 641-484-5061.