With an overflow of waste, protecting public health and the environment begins with responsible waste management. 

In Southern Idaho, the Southern Idaho Regional Solid Waste District (SISW) is taking charge by making upgrades to their regions district that serves a vital role for more than 220,000 residences across seven South-Central Idaho counties in Blaine, Cassia, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Twin Falls. 

In 1994, SISW opened for operation utilizing the Milner Butte Landfill to now managing over 320,000 tons of waste annually, diverting 40,000 tons of recyclables through an integrated system of fifteen waste transfer stations to provide environmentally friendly means of waste disposal. 

As communities grow, so does the demand for modern, efficient waste management infrastructure. SISW Executive Director and CEO Nate Francisco who began his career with "boots on the ground," gained firsthand experience in the challenges and demands of waste management. His passion and dedication to operational excellence is shaping the district’s future, leading him to apply for USDA’s Waste and Water Loan and Grant Program.  

“The most significant impact will be the infrastructure and efficiency improvements that will allow us to provide professional and safe services while maintaining low disposal cost.” Nate

The USDA loan will help SISW make transformative upgrades, addressing deficiencies and enhancing operational efficiency. These improvements will include safety upgrades, such as put up railing, reinforcing floors by expanded parking areas, extending pavement to all onsite facilities, replacing gravel for heavy traffic, adding new perimeters fencing and a storage building, will all meet modern standards while ensuring public and employee well-being. Additional the facility will add employee restrooms, showers, and lockers to support the compounds nearly 50 employees, providing hygienic facilities and preventing workplace contaminants from being taken home. The upgrades will also create new employee office space, including a conference room to facilitate training sessions and collaborative efforts, ensuring employees have the tools needed for continued excellence in waste management.

To meet the growing demand, SISW will be replacing outdated steel containers with new lighter aluminum containers boosting hauling efficiency allowing an additional 3-5 tons of waste to be transported per trip, significantly enhancing efficiency. Aluminum also offers greater durability and resist rust. 
With masterminds behind the design, the new trailer lids are being redesigned to securely contain waste during transport, preventing garbage from escaping while ensuring a cleaner, more efficient operation.

In addition to waste disposal, SISW manages hazardous materials, like used oil and pesticide containers, and runs a 3.9-Megawatt landfill-gas-to-energy plant collectively provide sustainable waste disposal solutions. One of the most exciting operation developments is to use landfill gas to generate electricity waste into a cell anywhere between six and 18 months after it’s placed, it begins to decompose and creates what is called “landfill gas”. Landfill gas is made up of 50% methane, 40% CO2, about 10% balance gas with under one percent oxygen. Once the landfill gas begins emitting, the gas does have the potential to get into our atmosphere. With constructing horizontal, and vertical pipelines that are under a vacuum throughout the entire landfill, they collect and test landfill emissions every six-months, to ensure the harmful gasses are not emitting back into the atmosphere.

This project is funded through USDA Rural Development’s Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program. This program provides funding for clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage disposal, sanitary solid waste disposal, and storm water drainage to households and businesses in eligible rural areas.

To learn more on the proper ways to recycle, visit: Recycling, Reuse, and Composting | Idaho Department of Environmental Quality