The Brief

  • The La Crosse County Landfill is expanding with construction of a new cell underway, part of a larger expansion approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

  • The new cell will add five acres and accommodate 700,000 cubic yards of waste, extending the landfill’s life by five years

  • Three additional cells will be built as part of the overall expansion, which will provide approximately 25 years of additional operational life to the facility

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — The La Crosse County Landfill is undergoing a significant expansion with construction of a new cell currently underway at the facility.

The $3 million project represents the first phase of a larger expansion that was recently approved by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The new cell will consist of approximately five acres and accommodate about 700,000 cubic yards of waste.

Jadd Stilwell, Director of the La Crosse County Solid Waste Department, explained the scope and importance of the expansion.

“The new cell is part of an expansion that was recently approved by the DNR,” Stilwell said. “What we’re constructing this year is the first phase. It’ll consist of about a five-acre addition to our current permitted landfill. It’ll accommodate about 700,000 cubic yards of waste, which will add an additional five years of life to the existing landfill.”

The La Crosse County Solid Waste facility serves five counties in the region, making the expansion critical for the area’s waste management infrastructure. According to Stilwell, the expansion provides long-term stability and environmental responsibility.

“Overall, it just provides stability,” Stilwell said. “La Crosse County Solid Waste serves five counties, so this additional expansion provides a secure and environmentally responsible storage capacity for the next five years. Overall, the total expansion will give the site about 25 years of additional life, again, bringing kind of stability to the region while ensuring environmental compliance and stability.”

The overall expansion project will include three additional cells beyond the one currently under construction. When fully completed, the expansion will accommodate approximately 3.2 million cubic yards of waste. By the time the site is completely constructed, it will have a total capacity of slightly over 8 million cubic yards of waste.

The landfill currently has eight existing cells, with the new construction representing the ninth cell. This expansion is both vertical and horizontal, with the new cells merging together as construction progresses.

Construction is expected to be completed by mid-August, though the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will conduct a rigorous review process that could take up to 60 days. Officials are targeting an October 1 start date for the new cell to begin accepting waste.

The facility accepts various types of waste, including residuals from waste-to-energy combustion at Xcel Energy, construction and demolition waste, and industrial waste. According to Stilwell, the vast majority of municipal solid waste in the region is combusted at Xcel Energy for waste energy recovery.

“We have a few different programs,” Stilwell said. “We have special waste program, but overall, the vast majority of the municipal solid waste within the region is combusted at Xcel Energy for waste energy, so a lot of the material we get here are some byproduct of that. The residuals, as we reference them, it’s material that could not be combusted at Xcel, and also a lot of construction and demolition and industrial waste.”

When landfill cells reach capacity and are closed, they undergo a rigorous closure process. Multiple protective layers are installed, including geocomposite liners, clay layers, and rooting zones. The closed cells are then graded to match the surrounding landscape.

According to Stilwell, closed landfill areas will eventually be converted into recreational spaces for public use.

“Typically, when we construct, we close additional cells that are already up to grade,” Stilwell said. “When we do that, we have the same requirements as far as construction with geocomposite liner, clay layer, and then rooting zone. Then those areas will be transitioned into basically kind of a mirroring surrounding topography. When the site is eventually closed, typically they are turned into recreational type areas, either parks or places for people to enjoy outdoor activities.”

The La Crosse County Solid Waste Department is self-funded through tipping fees and other revenue sources. According to the department, approximately 31 percent of materials brought to the facility are diverted from landfilling or recycled, and staff continue to explore ways to reduce landfilling.

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