Companies asking state to expand landfills as Twin Cities trash problem grows

Trash in the twin cities is becoming a problem. Particularly, where to put all of it.

Local landfills want permission from the state to increase their capacity.

For the first time in nearly two decades, four companies last week put in requests with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to expand their landfills.

"We see that the current capacity of landfills is not there to take on what we’re projecting into the future," Kirk Koudelka with MPCA said. "The amount of waste we create as Minnesotans especially in the metro area is growing. I think the easiest way to think about that is think about your garbage day and driving down your street or alley. All those garbage cans, many of them so full the lids can’t even close. All of that has to go someplace that amount of waste is just increasing, which means our landfills have to increase."

The MCPA will make a decision on the requests this summer.