County landfill looking to collect through 2048

Spending nearly $4 million for expansion, site entrance.

La Crosse County continues to look for ways to keep its current landfill running for as long as possible.  

More landfill space is being constructed, even as around 24 acres of the existing property is sold to the city of La Crosse for development.  

“We have an expansion plan that will start in a couple years and that will give us an additional 10-20 years,” Hank Koch, the county’s solid waste director, said. “So, right now, we’re looking 2048, that timeframe before our landfill would be filled up.”

Koch said the new landfill cell would cost around $1.3 million, while a joint project with the city of La Crosse and La Crosse county for a new site entrance will be around a $2.5 million project.

One way that the county hopes to extend the landfill life is by negotiating a longer contract with Xcel Energy to keep burning local garbage, so it won’t have to be buried.