DeKalb County landfill narrowly avoids surpassing 500,000-ton cap

SYCAMORE – Total tons of nonexempt waste from the DeKalb County landfill broke its 500,000-ton cap in 2018 – and yet, it didn’t.

Pete Stefan, director of the DeKalb County finance department, explained the situation in his update on landfill revenue last year during the county’s Finance Committee meeting Wednesday night at the DeKalb County Administration Building. He said there were 506,021 tons of nonexempt waste, but he later learned part of that total included special waste, which is not subject to the cap.

“This is the first year that category went over,” Stefan said.

In the future, Stefan said, the county most likely will separately break down total tons collected for solid waste and special waste within the nonexempt waste category.

Stefan said monthly revenues were between $166,380 and $302,445 for 2018. In total, waste collection led to more than $2.6 million in revenue for the year.

In 2014, the county increased the amount of waste the landfill accepts daily, and ultimately, the amount of revenue the county generates, by approving an additional 500 tons of trash a day on top of its current rate of about 300 tons a day. That decision was made to provide more revenue for the construction of the DeKalb County Jail expansion, which was completed last year.

Stefan said the landfill was operational in a full calendar year starting in 2015 and all numbers have gone up since then.

He said there was a total of 419,527 tons of waste, which included nonexempt and exempt waste, that went into the landfill in 2015, 489,582 tons in 2016, 544,676 tons in 2017 and 555,599 tons in 2018.

Stefan said $1,585,400 of landfill revenue will go toward paying back the bonds the county took out to pay for the jail expansion, according to fiscal 2019 budgeted numbers. He said $650,000 will go to the jail’s operations and general funds.

Stefan said the only landfill revenue allocation that might fluctuate is the amount of money that will go toward the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office’s new radio communications project fund.

“If it’s more, it’s more, and if it’s less, it’s less,” Stefan said.