SAFFORD — The Safford City Council is being asked to take the first step in retiring the existing landfill and establishing a new one.
The council is being asked to approve the purchase of 280 acres of land from the Bureau of Land Management, at a cost of $2,800, to be used as a new landfill when the existing landfill is retired.
The land is located directly west and north of the existing landfill.
The current landfill will remain open until 2045, when the city has to begin work on its retirement.
Closure and environmental mitigation of a landfill is estimated at upward of $16 million, and Safford utility customers pay a Landfill Closure Fee each month to help fund that effort.
The City Council will consider the purchase at its regular meeting Monday, at 6 p.m., in the Library’s Community Room.
