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Landfill Disposal
Landfill Disposal Procedures
A traffic light and intercom system are used to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic. Upon arrival at the landfill, drive up to the stop sign. The office attendant will greet haulers on the speaker outside your driver side window. You will be asked to identify the contents of your load so you can be directed to the correct site(s) for disposal. Drop boxes are available near the scale so small loads can be disposed of without requiring the customer to drive into the disposal cell.
Weigh: Once you have weighed in, the attendant will turn the traffic light to green and you may now enter the yard to unload at the correct site(s). All loads are to remain covered and secured until after weigh-in. Once unloaded you must drive back onto the scale to weigh-out.
Pay: After the light turns green pull over to the cashier window and the tipping fee will be collected. Anyone dumping material in the wrong area will be required to clean up the material and take it to the correct site for disposal or be liable for the associated penalties and/or cleanup fees.
Load Inspections
All loads entering the landfill are subject to inspections to screen out prohibited materials. Individuals who dump any prohibited materials in the landfill are subject to fines, penalties, and removal or cleanup costs associated with the incident. The following materials are prohibited at the Watertown Landfill:
- Hazardous waste
- Lead acid batteries
- Liquids
- Tires
- Waste oil
The Watertown Sanitation Department would like to thank the Watertown residents for their awesome support of the Single Stream Recycling collection program in Watertown. These are the special features of Single Stream Recycling:
- All recyclable materials are placed in the tan 95 gallon container provided by the city
- Recycling is collected every other week on the same day as your garbage
- Areas north of Third Avenue North and all of Lake Kampeska are in recycle route A
- Areas south of Third Avenue North are in recycle route B
- Refer to the color coded calendar in the Refuse and Recycling Manual to determine what week you should place your recycling container out for collection.
Tan 95 gallon Recycle containers with wheels and attached lids are available for residents to use. Call the Watertown Sanitation Department at 605-882-6219 or complete the request form to request a recycle container be delivered to your home.
Recyclable items include:
- Plastic
- Bottles with a neck smaller than the base (as milk jugs, plastic pop bottles, dish soap and shampoo bottles). Remove caps and lids; throw them in the trash.
- Metal
- Aerosol cans - completely empty with caps removed. Aluminum, steel and bi-metal cans; not necessary to remove labels.
- Cardboard
- Clean corrugated and non-corrugated paperboard (as cereal boxes, soda boxes, and cracker boxes). Break down large boxes to get more into your container.
- Paper
- Newspapers, coupon pages, glossy inserts and flyers, magazines, catalogs, office paper, computer paper and phone books.
Examples of items that are not recycled and should go in your regular garbage are:
- Items soiled with food or oil
- Cardboard milk and cardboard or foam egg cartons
- Antifreeze, oil, pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer containers
- Ice cream buckets, Styrofoam cups, and butter or yogurt containers
- Shredded paper;
- Scrap such as pie tins, tin foil, or paint cans
- Glass
- Window envelopes and padded envelopes
- Milk or egg cartons or pizza boxes
Yard waste is collected in the green 95 gallon containers by an automated side-loading truck. To purchase a container:
- Call the Watertown Sanitation Department at 605-882-6219 or complete the request form. If the container request form is used, you will need to call the landfill after submission and use a credit card to purchase a container. Your container will be delivered in about one week after payment.
- Drive to the landfill, pay with cash, check, or credit card and take the container with you.
- Pay with cash, check, or credit card at the City Finance Office at City Hall. Your container will be delivered in about one week.
- Refer to the color coded calendar in the Recycling Manual to determine the weeks that the Yard Waste Collection Truck is in operation (Weather Permitting).
Residents are allowed to purchase more than one container for their yard waste needs. There is no additional charge on your utility bill for yard waste collection. The green yard waste containers are picked up weekly by the grass truck on the same day as your garbage collection during yard waste season. Dates typically begin in early April and typically end in late November. These dates are announced in the local media.
Only grass clippings, leaves, and garden vegetation are placed in the green 95-gallon container. No branches, bushes, or wood are allowed in yard waste containers. They do not compost well.
The green 95-gallon yard waste containers are the property of the resident that purchases them. If you move, you may take the green yard waste container with you. Do not take the blue refuse or tan recycling container with you.
Compost is a specialty fertilizer used to improve the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil to which it is applied. Due to the homeowners use of pesticides and herbicides, small amounts of these products may be present in the compost. The City of Watertown makes no expressed or implied claims for this product other than what is contained in the label. Compost is available at the Watertown Regional Landfill.
Personal Use
Grass clippings, leaves, and garden vegetation are composted at the landfill. After composting and screening, the compost is available to the public for personal use. Each Watertown resident may receive up to 2 tons (4,000 lbs.) per year at no charge by showing a utility bill stub for their current residence.
Cost
There is a charge of $20 per ton for additional material or if a utility bill is not presented. Non-residents may purchase compost at a cost of $20 per ton.
The landfill accepts and recycles white goods. The cooling compound or refrigerant will be removed at the landfill at no additional cost to the customer.
All doors must be removed from refrigerators and freezers, and they must be emptied of all contents before they are brought to the landfill. These items need to be secured or covered (as all loads are) to insure that doors and trays do not blow off during transport.
All uncovered loads are charged double as required by ordinance.
Christmas trees stripped of all lights, ornaments, and decorations will be picked up for the two weeks following Christmas on normal collection days.
Christmas trees should not be placed in plastic bags.
Exact dates will be announced using local media. After this period, Christmas trees and appropriate tipping fee will need to be brought to the landfill by the resident.