York County, Pennsylvania, approves transfer station as landfill nears capacity

York County Solid Waste Authority (YCSWA) in Pennsylvania is building a waste transfer station to address a possible need for disposal in the event an agreement can’t be reached to extend the life of the Modern Landfill in Lower Windsor Township.

As reported by the York Daily Record, the plan was approved unanimously during a regularly scheduled Manchester Township Board of Supervisors meeting after Doug Jason, representing YCSWA, approached the board with a final land development plan review for the transfer station.

Currently, a nearby incinerator accepts items that can be processed at the facility to produce electricity, but construction and demolition (C&D) debris, such as concrete and plaster, must be taken to the Modern Landfill, operated by Republic Services.

In 2021, the York Daily Record reported that the landfill, which has been operating in the township since the 1970s, has had four expansions in its nearly 50 years of operations. An expansion proposed at the time would have increased the landfill’s size by 50 percent, expanding eastward into farmland.

Lower Windsor Township ended expansion negotiations with the Modern Landfill in late 2020. At the time, it was determined that the landfill would reach capacity in four years without an expansion.

YCSWA representatives said at the meeting that the next closest landfill in Cumberland County would create considerable travel time for York County residents and businesses using the landfill, with YCSWA highlighting that almost half of the traffic bringing items to the landfill is personal vehicles, while the other half is commercial.

Representatives say the transfer station would work by using large trucks to haul debris to another landfill outside York County.