Windstorms, construction fuel spike in trash along Mat-Su greenbelt

What you need to know:

• A surge of trash scattered across popular Palmer-area trails is tied to historic winter winds and ongoing expansion work at the Mat-Su Central Landfill, borough officials said.
• Trail users and volunteers say debris has spread farther than ever before, with dozens of bags of trash collected from trails near Mat-Su College and the landfill’s new 20-acre construction area.
• The borough plans a public cleanup Monday at the Cravasse Moraine trailhead while officials work to complete fencing and other upgrades designed to keep blowing trash contained.

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PALMER — A surge in trash scattered throughout a popular Palmer-area trail system is linked to a Mat-Su landfill expansion and the winter’s historic windstorms, borough officials said.

Residents who regularly use the trail system said household waste and construction debris are now caught in trees and bushes and scattered across the ground in areas where they had never before spotted litter. The trash blows in from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Central Landfill because of the region’s notorious winds, they said.

Landfill officials plan to host a cleanup day in the area Monday, with groups leaving from the Cravasse Moraine trailhead at 10 a.m. Bags and gloves will be provided.

Groups have already collected dozens of bags of trash over the last month from a section of trails overseen by Mat-Su College and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, located directly next to the landfill’s new 20-acre clearing, where trees were first toppled to make way for construction in 2024, local volunteers said.  

The blowing trash highlights the tension between residents’ waste that makes its way to the landfill and the hilly 30-mile trail system that surrounds most of the facility, trail users and borough officials said.

During low-wind years or when there is no new construction, the impact is manageable, said Jeff Smith, who oversees the borough’s solid waste division. But high winds paired with a new construction area where crews have not yet finished fencing designed to capture blowing trash made this year especially bad, he said.

“It is exceptionally worse this year than it ever has been — probably the worst I’ve ever seen it,” he said in an interview.

The expansion is designed to relocate the landfill’s check-in area to the west side of the facility, eliminating traffic backups onto 49th State St. at the current entrance. It also includes a new tipping floor, a trash reception area for household waste set into the ground and designed to keep wind from whipping waste out of the facility, Smith said.  

The update does not add a new dumping section where trash is buried in the ground, known as a “cell,” Smith said.

His team is also changing how an area for construction and demolition waste is managed to reduce the amount of litter that can blow away before crews cover it. The landfill also closes and does not accept drop-offs on high-wind days, a step that can reduce scattered trash, he said.

Kathi Baldwin said she and her family use the greenbelt trails almost daily, primarily on a section tucked near her home behind Mat-Su College, where she has lived for decades. Unlike past years, when blowing debris landed primarily in a section of Cravasse Moraine park known as “K-Mart Alley,” this year the snow melted to reveal paper, plastic and other debris spread for the first time across the college trails and through off-trail valleys.

She said earlier this month that they used a sled to haul out bags of trash from less than half a mile of trail and surrounding areas. She said she worries scattered trash will be the new post-winter norm. She said she is skeptical that the landfill’s fencing can keep the debris at bay. 

“I don’t think the landfill has a sustainable solution to the problem,” she said.

Baldwin said she wishes more people understood the trail system’s connection to the landfill and where their trash could end up when they choose to dump it rather than recycle it.

“If this was happening at the Anchorage landfill and blew across the highway, people would be screaming,” she said. “But because it’s blowing into these woods, people don’t notice it. The people we come across on the trail are devastated.”

Members of the public are invited to join landfill crews for Monday’s cleanup day. The group will meet at the Cravasse Moraine trailhead on Loma Prieta Drive at 10 a.m.

Individuals who want to volunteer at other times can contact the landfill to get free bags and other supplies, such as trash grabbers. Litter collected from the trail system around the landfill can be returned there, or individuals can leave it on the trail and call the landfill with details about where to find it. Call 907-861-7605 or email solid.waste@matsugov.us.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com