County must look at alternatives for waste stream Should Portage County develop a new landfill? That a multiple-million-dollar question. The county initially developed its landfill in the 1970s after municipalities had been utilizing out-of-county landfills for more than a decade. In those days, landfills were called dumps, and rightfully so. Trash was dumped into holes in the ground, usually natural depressions. The trash was seldom, if ever, covered, and debris blew around. Those dumps contaminated the soil and the ground water, leading to closures and development of landfills that were more environmentally friendly. The county developed its landfill at the request of municipalities because the only landfills in the area were not environmentally safe. And the municipalities wanted a say in the operation to ensure its compliance with regulations because of problems with landfills they had used. Those municipalities were forced to pay for cleanup of materials they contended they never deposited. In those cases, many of the offending "dumpers" had gone out of business, leaving the municipalities and companies still in business the scapegoats to pay cleanup costs. We're a trash-generating society. One need only look at the weekly bags of garbage placed at the end of the driveways where trash is picked up to verify that. Town of Stockton residents are aware of that. Having a landfill in their backyards is not a pleasant reality. However, until society demands a reduction in trash through increased recycling or other efforts, such as incinerator technology, landfills will continue to be the only way to handle garbage. And they will fill quickly. Years ago, people didn't generate as much trash. Packaging was expanded for sanitary reasons and to combat theft. Thus, a person today generates more garbage. Placing landfills in every neighborhood might educate the public better about the solid waste problem. Unfortunately, the standards and economics for creating a landfill won't permit that. Trucking the garbage to another county exports the problem, but doesn't solve it and removes local say in the operation of the landfill. The county needs to pursue development of a landfill, but it shouldn't be short-sighted. As long as municipalities entrust it with handling the waste stream, the county needs to consider technological solutions to the problem. Working with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and other institutions on that would be a giant step forward, not only for the county, but for the world. - Gene Kemmeter