Solid Waste Management Plan
Regional 5 - County Solid Waste Plan Update (2025)In order to develop an updated Regional Solid Waste Plan, the County Commissioners of the Five-County Region—that includes Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Union, and Snyder Counties—went through a thorough, multi-year process. Pennsylvania law requires that the Plan provide for the region's common waste capacity demands for ten years.
Throughout the Plan's creation, Lycoming County served as the lead agency. Stakeholders, Recycling Coordinators, Municipalities, Waste related businesses and the general public were heavily involved in the process. The first Regional Solid Waste Plan was approved by DEP on February 26, 2013, and it conforms with Act 101, the Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling, and Waste Reduction Act of 1988, as well as any necessary modifications to the Act.
Links to the Draft Regional Solid Waste Plan Update, currently out for review by the PA Department of Environmental Resources and the General Public are below along with the Notice of Public Comment that includes the dates of public meetings:
- Public Meeting Presenation - January 2025
Notice of Public Comment - December 2024
Draft - Regional Five County Solid Waste Plan Update - 4/22/2025
- Appendix A
- Appendix B I
- Appendix B II
- Appendix B III
- Appendix C
- Appendix D
- Appendix E I
- Appendix E II
- Appendix F
- Appendix G
- Appendix H
- Appendix I
- Exhibits 1 - 3
Regional Solid Waste Plan Development
Regional 5 - County Solid Waste Plan Update (2025)
Goals - Regional Solid Waste Plan Development
Act 101 and the municipal waste regulations describe the required contents of a county or multicounty municipal waste management plan. The regulations in 25 PA Code Sections 272.221- 272.233 provide further detail on required content. The Plan will include the following tasks:
- Description of the waste. This means tons and contents of municipal waste that will be generated in each county and the region.
- Description of facilities. An analysis of the facilities currently used by the counties.
- Estimated future capacity. An analysis of the potential regional and county needs for capacity.
- Description of Recycling Program. Includes analysis of recyclable materials and development of alternative means to meet the 35% goal on a region-wide basis.
- Selection and Justification of Municipal Waste Management Programs. An analysis of each county's program, including facility selection and cost of disposal, and consideration of regional alternatives such as service-sheds, transfer stations, and expanded recycling facilities.
- Location. The identification and locations of available facilities.
- Implementing Entity Identification. Who will be responsible for implementing the Plan on behalf of each county?
- Public Function. Justification of and mechanisms to implement public ownership or public function in municipal waste processing or disposal, if proposed.
- Copies of Ordinances and Resolutions. Orderly Extension. An analysis of how each county's waste management system is coordinated with other county plans, ordinances and programs.
- Methods of Disposal Other Than By Contracts.
- Non-Interference. A discussion of how the regional plan will not interfere with existing facilities.
- Public Participation. Advertisements, hearing minutes, Regional SWAC meetings, notices, other public information documents.
- Other Information. Any other information the Department may require.
Given that this is a Regional Plan, it will also include the following:
- Describe the purpose of the plan, noting special or unique county concerns and issues.
- Consider waste management services as a regional system of collection and recycling/disposal services and facilities.
- Evaluate the logistics of waste flows occurring within the region both presently and within the future, including consideration of waste volumes, origin/destination patterns, transportation corridors used, modal split, and the type of goods shipped.
- Develop maps that correspond to service-sheds (not necessarily county boundaries).
- Develop strategies to feasibly and economically address identified waste trends while preserving our quality of life.
- Promote stability/certainty of waste flow, priority service for partners, competitive service costs, and flexibility to address special needs as they arise.
- Evaluate expansion of recycling programs on a regional basis and identify funding mechanisms for continuation of local recycling administration.
- Document the benefits to each county, its residents and its businesses of participating in the identified regional municipal waste management programs as specified in DEP Document 254-2212-504 Guidelines for Development and Implementation of County Municipal Waste Management Plan Revisions.
- Assess environmental benefits including, but not limited to, reductions in greenhouse gas and carbon credits, using the Northeastern Environmental Center www.nerc.org environmental benefits calculator, or comparable instrument.
- Document economies of scale, recycling economies and expansion potential, and sustainability of recycling programs.
- Create a consensus-building atmosphere among municipalities and stakeholders that will facilitate plan preparation and implementation.
- Involve all interested parties, such as chambers of commerce, municipalities, state agencies, regional planning/development groups, general public, etc., in the planning process.
- Use existing commissions/committees/associations as a vehicle for informing interested stakeholders about the plan and getting them involved in the planning process and implementation phase.
- Emphasize practical means of implementing the plan.
- Identify county policies, actions/investments, capital projects or coordinated services that reflect a plan regionally/act locally approach,
- Identify regional policies, actions/investments, capital projects or coordinated services by which counties would benefit from working together and the means by which to do so,
- Identify roles and responsibilities for the implementation steps,
- Initiate an on-going regional forum and process to implement the plan, allowing waste issues to be discussed and analyzed by public and private sector partners and for appropriate decisions about regional waste issues to be made.
History - Regional Solid Waste Plan Development
Last updated 10/15/24
| July 2008 | The five counties making up the Region first met to begin discussion of the Plan development concept |
| 1/22/2010 | A Request for Proposals from qualified consulting firms was issued |
| 2/4/2010 | A mandatory pre-proposal meeting was held to discuss the effort with interested bidders |
| 2/26/2010 | Bids were received from consultants |
| 3/24/2010 | Shortlist interviews were conducted with selected consultants |
| 4/29/2010 | A formal contract was signed with L.R. Kimball as a representative of the successful Consulting Team |
| 5/13/2010 | Steering Committee Meeting #1 was held with county and consultant representatives in Lycoming County |
| 6/22-24/2010 | Public kickoff meeting held in each county |
| 6/29-7/1/2010 | Stakeholder Meetings #1 |
| 7/13/2010 | Steering Committee Meeting #2 in Montour County |
| 8/24-26/2010 | Stakeholder Committee Meetings #2 |
| 9/1/2010 | Effective date of Regional Solid Waste Plan Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement |
| 9/28/2010 | Steering Committee Meeting #3 in Union County |
| 10/6/2010 | Special Haulers Stakeholder Committee Meeting #3 in Union County |
| 10/21/2010 | Steering Committee Meeting #4 in Snyder County |
| 10/25/2010 | Draft Plan narrative submitted to Stakeholder Committee Members |
| 2/4/2011 | Draft Plan submittal to PADEP |
| 2/8-10/2011 | Stakeholder Committee Meetings #3 (#4 for Haulers Committee) |
| 3/28/2011 | Steering Committee met with PADEP to discuss DEP comments |
| 8/11/2011 | Meeting with PADEP to discuss the final version of the Solicitation of Interest (SOI) |
| 9/19/2011 | Advertisement of SOI placed locally and in Waste Age Magazine |
| 10/2/2011 | Notification of SOI to landfills who have accepted waste from the Region in past five years |
| 10/24/2011 | Addendum to SOI issued |
| 11/18/2011 | Responses to SOI received |
| 12/6/2011 | Steering Committee Meeting #5 in Union County |
| 2/22/2012 | Steering Committee Meeting #6 in Columbia County |
| 3/30/2012 | Revisions completed and Final Draft version submitted to DEP |
| 4/16/2012 | Five counties posted notification of 90-day public review period |
| 6/17/2012 - 6/18/2012 | Public meetings held in all five counties |
| 6/28/2012 | PADEP issued comment letter recommending edits to Draft Plan |
| 8/20/2012 | Requested edits submitted to PADEP |
| 8/31/2012 | PADEP issued comment letter recommending further edits to Draft Plan |
| 9/4/2012 | Steering Committee Meeting #7 in Union County |
| 9/21/2012 | Requested edits submitted to PADEP |
| September 2012 | Commissioners of five counties voted to adopt Final Draft Plan |
| 9/24/2012 | 90-day municipal ratification period began; municipal adoption requirements were met by early December 2012 |
| 12/11/2012 | Steering Committee Meeting #8 in Lycoming County; Committee voted to approve plan and submit to DEP |
| 12/20/2012 | Final Draft Plan submitted to PADEP |
| February 2013 | PADEP requested further edits; revised Final Draft Plan submitted |
| 2/26/2013 | DEP formally accepted plan; one-year implementation period began |
| 6/4/2013 | Steering Committee met in Union County to reorganize committee and initiate implementation activities |
2019 Five County Solid Waste Plan Revisions
These are the revisions to the Five County Solid Waste Plan. The revisions are necessary due to a recycling status change in Montour County. The following documents show the only proposed changes. To view the full original plan please visit the Final Regional Solid Waste Management Plan website.
- 2019 Solid Waste Plan - original
- 2019 Solid Waste Plan - draft revisions
A one-year implementation period follows the official DEP acceptance of the plan, which occurred on February 26, 2013. The five counties have formed a Regional Steering Committee to carry out implementation of the plan.
History - Regional Solid Waste Plan Implementation
| 6/4/2013 | Steering Committee met in Union County to reorganize committee and initiate implementation activities |
| 2/25/2014 | 15 municipal waste processing/ disposal capacity agreements were executed |
| 3/17/2014 | First 15 executed municipal waste processing/ disposal capacity agreements and cover letter were sent to DEP |
| 3/19/2014 | Received solicitations of interest from Waste Management for adding Laurel Highlands and Southern Alleghenies Landfills |
| 10/14/2014 | Both Laurel Highlands and Southern Alleghenies Landfills executed waste processing/ disposal capacity agreements |
| 12/31/2014 | Official municipal notification letter sent out as per DEP regulations concerning two new facilities added to the plan |
Implementation Phase Steering Committee (2013-beyond)
- Robert Aungst, Director, Columbia County Planning Commission
- Joshua Billings, Environmental Planner, Lycoming County Planning Commission
- Greg Molter, Director, Montour County Planning Commission
- Thomas Gibson, Recycling Coordinator, Snyder County Solid Waste Management Authority
- Robert Huntington, Environmental Planner/Recycling Coordinator, Union County Planning Commission
Regional Solid Waste Plan Development Committees (2010-2012)
County Representatives
Columbia
- Commissioners David M. Kovach, William M. Soberick, and Chris E. Young
- Planning Commission Director Robert Aungst
Lycoming
- Commissioners Ernest P. Larson, Jeff C. Wheeland, Rebecca A. Burke (2010-2011) and Tony R. Mussare (2012)
- Planning & Community Development Environmental Planner Megan Lehman
Montour
- Commissioners Trevor S Finn, John J Gerst and Jerry R Ward
- Planning Commission Director Betsy Hack
Snyder
- Commissioners Joseph E. Kantz, Peggy Chamberlain Roup and Malcolm L. Derk III
- Solid Waste Mgmt Authority Recycling Coordinator Debbie Wolf
Union
- Commissioners Preston Boop, John Showers and John H. Mathias
- Planning Commission Director Shawn McLaughlin
- County Recycling Coordinator Robert Huntington
Consultant Team
- Dave Minnear, PE, L.R. Kimball – Overall Project Management
- Terry Keene, PE, Barton & Loguidice – Waste Shed Analyses and Municipal Stakeholder Group Rep
- Joyce Hatala, Hatala Assoc. – Recycling and Citizen Stakeholder Group Rep
- Mike Goldman, PE, Goldman Assoc. Inc. – Solid Waste & Business & Industry Stakeholder Group Rep
- Kerry Tyson, PE, Nittany Engineering – Assistance with Waste Shed Analyses
- Cathy Johnson, EfficientC – Meeting Minutes and General Notation
Stakeholder Committees
- Municipal Stakeholder Group
- Recycling Stakeholder Group
- Business & Industry Stakeholder Group
- Haulers Stakeholder Group
- Citizens Stakeholder Group
Final Regional Solid Waste Management Plan (approved February 26, 2013)
- Cover
- Final Narrative 2-25-2013
- Appendix A
- A.1 Landfilled Waste Material Tonnage
- A.2 Water and Wastewater Surveys
- A.3 Hospital Surveys
- A.4 Landfills and % of Waste Stream
- A.5 Annual Landfill Totals
- Appendix B
- B.1 NERC Environmental Benefits Report
- B.2 Columbia County Municipal Recycling
- B.3 Lycoming County Municipal Recycling
- B.4 Montour County Municipal Recycling
- B.5 Snyder County Municipal Recycling
- B.6 Union County Municipal Recycling
- B.7 County and Regional Recycling Tonnages
- B.8 County Recycling Charts
- B.9 Summary of Act 101 Recycling Materials
- B.10 LCRMS Newsletter Summer 2010
- B.11 LCRMS Recycling Facility Pamphlet
- B.12 Snyder County 2011 Spec Event Snyder County Final
- B.13 Snyder County Recycling Schedule 2011 revised Feb
- B.14 Union County Recycling Guide
- B.15 Union County Recycling Locations
- B.16 Act 108 (CRDA) PADEP Factsheet from PADEP
- B.17 Estimated Recycling Revenue for 2011
- Appendix C
- C.1 2001 Columbia
- C.2 2000 Lycoming
- C.3 2001 Montour
- C.4 2000 Snyder
- C.5 1998 Union
- Appendix D
- D.1 - SOI Document with All Attachments
- D.2 - Daily Item SOI Proof o fPublication 9-16-11
- D.3 - Press Enterprise Proof of Publication
- D.4 - Williamsport SunGazette SOI Ad
- D.5 - Waste Age SOI Ad Sept 2011
- D.6 - B&L SOI Review and Recommendations Memo to RSC 2-15-2012
- D.7 - Table 1 - 5-County Detailed SOI Submittal Completeness Summary Rev
- D.8 - Table 2 - 5-County Region SOI Submittal Ceiling Tipping Fees Summary
- Appendix E
- E.1 - Model Waste Disposal Capacity Agreement
- E.2 - Model Transfer Station Agreement
- E.3 - Petition to Add a Landfill
- E.4 - Model Municipal Ordinance for Subscription Solid Waste Mgmt
- E.5 - Model Municipal Ordinance for Contracted or Municipal Solid Waste Mgmt
- E.6 - Limited Burn ExeterTwp
- E.7 - No Burning Recyclables_BradyTownship
- E.8 - Complete No Burn South Williamsport
- E.9 - PADEP Model Air Pollution Control Ordinance
- E.10 - Model County Ordinance for Solid Waste Mgmt
- Appendix F
- 2012 DEP Comment Response Letter
- 2012 Public Comment Meeting Notes
- 2012 Public Comment Meeting #1 Sign in Sheet (Columbia)
- 2012 Public Comment Meeting #2 Sign In Sheet (Montour)
- 2012 Public Comment Meeting #3 Sign In Sheet (Union)
- 2012 Public Comment Meeting #4 Sign In Sheet (Snyder)
- 2012 Public Comment Meeting #5 Sign In Sheet (Lycoming)
- Ad for Public Kickoff Meeting for Local Paper
- B&I #1 Notes
- B&I #1 Sign In
- B&I #2 Notes
- B&I #2 Sign In
- B&I #3 Notes
- B&I #3 Sign In
- Citizens #1 Notes
- Citizens #1 Sign In
- Citizens #2 Notes
- Citizens #2 Sign In
- Citizens #3 Notes
- Citizens #3 Sign In
- Grant Application Transmittal 6-30-09
- Lycoming County Municipal Notification Letter
- Municipal #1 Notes
- Municipal #1 Sign In
- Municipal #2 Notes
- Municipal #2 Sign In
- Municipal #3 Notes
- Municipal #3 Sign In
- Official Notice to PADEP 4-20-09
- Recyclers #1 Notes
- Recycling #1 Sign In
- Recycling #2 Notes
- Recycling #2 Sign In
- Recycling #3 Notes
- Recycling #3 Sign In
- Regional Plan Kickoff Mtg Notification Letter 5-20-10
- Solid Waste Haulers #1 Notes
- Solid Waste Haulers #1 Sign In
- Solid Waste Haulers #2 Notes
- Solid Waste Haulers #2 Sign In
- Solid Waste Haulers #3 Notes
- Solid Waste Haulers #3 Sign In
- Solid Waste Haulers #4 Notes
- Solid Waste Haulers #4 Sign In
- Steering #1 Notes
- Steering #1 Sign In
- Steering #2 Notes
- Steering #2 Sign In
- Steering #3 Notes
- Steering #3 Sign In
- Steering #4 Notes
- Steering #4 Sign In
- Steering #5 Notes
- Steering #5 Sign In
- Steering #6 Notes
- Steering #6 Sign In
- Steering #7 Notes
- Steering #8 Notes
- Steering #8 Sign In
- Appendix G
- DEP Substantial Revision Letter May 14, 2009
- G.2_Multi-County Planning Agreement
- PADEP Final Approval Letter 2-26-13
- Appendix H
- Act 101 Guidance on 902 Grants
- Backyard Burning Adv - 7-2010
- Bloomsburg Commercial Recycling Guide
- Bloomsburg Curbside Recycling Guide
- Bloomsburg Drop-off Recycling Guide
- Bloomsburg Multi-family Housing Guide
- Open Burning Letter
- PA Cleanways_Columbia 2007
- PA Cleanways_Lycoming 2011
- PA Cleanways_Snyder 2009
- PA Cleanways_Union 2010
- PADEP Air Pollution Doc
- PADEP Open Burning Fact Sheet
- Snyder County Trash Talk
- Appendix I
- Appendix J
- Columbia Municipal Resolutions
- Lycoming Municipal Resolutions
- Montour Municipal Resolutions
- Snyder Municipal Resolutions
- Union Municipal Resolutions
- Links to Websites of Interest
- PADEP Recycling Page
- PADEP's recycling markets database.This list is kept current by the PA DEP Central Office (phone 717-787-7382). Users can query by material and location to find recyclers. Start a query in the Northcentral region, and if no results come up, then query by surrounding regions.
- For the agricultural community, here is list of plastics recyclers.
- PADEP's public resources page
- The PA Recycling Markets Center has an online search for organics recyclers
- Recycler's World. It is an international site.
- American Forest and Paper Association
- Your Compost Resource
- Earth 911– a search engine to locate recycling resources throughout the US
- WasteWise is a free, voluntary EPA program through which organizations eliminate costly municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes, benefiting their bottom line and the environment.
- The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR) is the trade association for the PET plastic packaging industry.
- The Pennsylvania Resources Council, established in 1939, is one of the Commonwealth's oldest citizen action environmental organizations. Recognized as a state and national leader in waste reduction and recycling, the remainder of PRC's work focuses on litter and visual blight prevention, watershed awareness, and composting.
- Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP’s) Recycling Resources
- Repurposed Materials - actively engaged with BOTH industy (saving good stuff from the landfill) and consumers (who find creative re-uses for the excess).
- Exhibits
- Exhibit 1
- Exhibit 2
- Exhibit 3
- Exhibit 4
- Exhibit 5
- Exhibit 6
- Exhibit 7
Municipal Waste Processing/Disposal Capacity Agreements
Original Executed Agreements
- Alliance
- Clinton County
- Coal Township
- Commonwealth Enviro Systems
- Cumberland County
- Grand Central
- Keystone Sanitary
- Lycoming County TS
- Lycoming County LF
- Mostoller
- Mountain View
- PA Waste Transfer
- Sandy Run
- Tunnel Hill
- Western Berks
Added Executed Agreements
- Laurel Highlands
- Southern Alleghenies
Contact Us - Regional Solid Waste Plan Development
- Rachel Swartwood, Director, Columbia County Recycling Coordinator, 570-389-9146
- Greg Molter, Director, Montour County Planning Commission, 570-271-3029
- Robert Huntington, Environmental Planner, Union County Planning Commission, 570-524-3840
- Lincoln Kaufman, Recycling Coordinator, Snyder County Solid Waste Management Authority, 570-837-4207
- Maleick Fleming, Community & Economic Development Planner, Lycoming County Planning & Community Development, 570-320-2115