Dive Brief:

• The solid waste permit for the Dillingham, Alaska landfill, issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, is set to expire on June 1, 2014. 
• The agency will not renew the permit if the city keeps open-burning its waste. The landfill received warning four years ago that it would not be able to continue with this method. 
• Another issue facing the landfill is dwindling space available to bury the trash deposited at the site. The city takes in 40% more waste than it initially expected. It is uncertain when the landfill will reach capacity. 

Dive Insight:

City officials think they may have a solution: reducing the volume of waste by using an incinerator. The city is hoping to decrease its waste stream by 95% with the purchase. The incinerator, if given approval by the city council, should be operational by the beginning of 2015.