As Hanna Landfill prepares to close, a new face looks to put things in order
Robert Young, the new Hanna Landfill manager, gets ready for dozens of contractors to survey the dump.
The Hanna Landfill has made major strides in its clean-up and preparedness for the June 27 closure.
The Hanna Landfill will close June 27 as a general dump for the towns of Elk Mountain, Hanna and Medicine Bow. To get the job done, roughly two dozen contractors went out to the landfill on Thursday to survey what needed to be accomplished for the closure. After looking over the landfill bids were submitted. On June 26, the bid will awarded.
Watching the trucks come into the dump was Robert Young, the new landfill operator. He came to work at the landfill about three weeks ago.
The landfill was a mess, not because it houses garbage, but because previous employees had not kept up with the work needed to be done to keep the dump in compliance with Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
"I knew when I came in, it was going to be a big job," Young said. "The biggest problem I had was all the equipment was broken."
Young said he recently got both dump trucks back in working order.
"I steam cleaned the dozer and loader because both were really bad," Young said. "The air filters were completely packed with dirt and they were overheating, so you couldn't do anything. We got it pretty much taken care of at the moment, although the hydraulic filter hasn't been changed in years."
Young said he is still working on the equipment to get it in better shape.
Besides the equipment, he has gotten the trash under control. He believes getting the landfill ready for its closure should not be a problem as it stands at the moment.
Young was born in Texas in a town outside of Ft. Worth. He learned ranching there and made his way to Illinois. He didn't enjoy Illinois and looked for another state to live.
He came to Wyoming a few years ago to work on ranches. All were in Carbon County.
"I started off as a ranch hand and then started becoming their mechanic," Young said. "My grandpa was a master mechanic out of the navy and my dad was a pretty good mechanic too, so it was something I just sort of inherited."
Young said Ann Calvert, Hanna Town Clerk and bookkeeper for the High Country Joint Powers Board has been invaluable to getting the job done.
"She knows a lot and then some," Young said. "She helped me tremendously."
Young said he was happy to be working at the Hanna landfill.
"This can be a good job, as long as you stay up with it."
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