Hastings, Nebraska Landfill Operations

Members of the Hastings City Council approved on Feb. 12, 2024 to purchase a 127-acre parcel of state-owned farm ground north of the landfill last year as a site for potential expansion.

The property lies south of Second Street and east of Southern Hills Drive on Hastings’ west edge, across the road and mostly south of the Hastings Regional Center campus.

The landfill needs about 50 acres of the property for its purposes, and the rest would be used for potential utility department purposes.

The City of Hastings Solid Waste Department serves a six-county area. Those counties are Adams, Clay, Franklin, Kearney, Nuckolls, and Webster Counties. The “regionalization” took effect April 10, 1996, Ordinance # 3526 Section 1, 9-107. At that time, most of the communities had to close their landfills due to the increase in environmental restrictions. This has happened all over the United States. For example, prior to this regionalization, Superior (Nuckolls County) was hauling their “waste” to Grand Island as it was the closest facility that would accept their waste after a smaller landfill near them had closed.

The landfill is only financed by tipping fees (Disposal Fees). This is the common financing mechanism (Enterprise Fund) for municipal landfills. Tax dollars are not used to support the landfill operations.

If you have any questions about the process of bringing solid waste to the landfill please contact Michelle Hill Landfill Superintendent at (402) 461-2308.