City enacts immediate changes for Brady Landfill

Effective July 9, the City of Brady landfill has temporarily closed residential and commercial refuse brought in by truck or trailer and also to trash collection services outside of those provided by the City of Brady. Regular collection for city residents by the municipal service will continue uninterrupted.

The landfill will still accept construction materials, brush, roofing, sheetrock, appliances, etc.

“The city is approaching the annual tonnage limit permitted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and we are taking these measures to ensure that this tonnage is not exceeded in the months of July and August,” said Brady City Manager Erin Corbell. “Full operations are anticipated to resume Sept. 3 when the annual tonnage limit resets.”

The city operates two pits at the landfill. Pit I is primarily for household trash (think what you put in your residential polycart each week). Pit IV is for construction materials: sheetrock, roofing, appliances, brush, and tree limbs.

The tonnage year as recognized by TCEQ runs from Sept. 1-Aug. 31.

“We filled 2,090.38 tons in TCEQ’s first quarter; 2,085.62 tons in Q2; 1,939.02 tons in Q3; and took in 661.57 tons in June. We have approximately 500 tons left before we exceed TCEQ regulated tonnage for July and August and we average 20 tons per day collected.”

After visiting with the landfill supervisor, they are taking the measures to close Pit 1 to all outside customers through the end of August.

What this means for local residents:

Pit 1 will be open ONLY to city garbage collection trucks. Residential and commercial pick-up will continue as normal.

Only items that are allowed in Pit 4 will be taken in by pickup loads. Again, this is construction material, brush, etc.

“We will not accept household pickups from county trash collectors,” said Ms. Corbell. “Those businesses have already been notified and are adjusting their practices to take household trash to other landfills.”

The city will be monitoring intake for Pit 1 every week. If the city gets too close to exceeding the limit in mid-August, they may enter into a scenario where household trash will need to be hauled to Brownwood.

Why did this happen?

According to the city manager, there has been more tonnage taken in by residential, and commercial trash trucks and county trash collection.

There were a number of days that, due to rain, Pit 4 was inaccessible and trash was diverted to Pit 1. (Pit 1 can take every type of material accepted by landfill. Pit 4 is construction material only.)

TCEQ Rules:

The City of Brady operates a Type I, Type IV Arid Exempted Landfill and is only authorized to receive waste from:

• Citizens and businesses in the City of Brady (you must bring a current utility bill for address verification)

• Citizens and businesses in the rural areas in McCulloch County (You must bring a current utility bill for address verification)

Restrictions:

The City of Brady Landfill must operate in compliance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Rules and Regulations, and the approved site operating plan. The facility is not permitted to accept hazardous waste.

Other Waste not accepted includes:

batteries, whole tires, any item that has or had freon, materials containing asbestos, materials containing PCB, automotive fluids (oil, antifreeze, etc.), wet paint, liquids (all waste must be in a solid form), septic tank pumpings, grease and grit trap waste, asbestos.

Unsecured Loads

The City of Brady shall not accept any load that is not covered and/or secured properly.

The operator shall take steps to ensure that vehicles hauling waste to the facility are either enclosed or provided with a tarpaulin, net, or other means to properly secure the load to prevent the escape of any part of the load by blowing or spilling.

Fees:

• No Debit or Credit Cards Accepted At Landfill

• All loads over a ton will be prorated.

• Residential Customers inside the City limits - $28 per ton

• Business / Commercial inside the City limits - $28 per ton

• Outside the City limits - $37 per ton

The landfill is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For questions, call the landfill directly at 325-597-1667.