Integrated System

Did you know? According to the EPA, each person generates about 4.48 pounds of waste every day. Combined with waste generated to support our standard of living in the U.S., the average American produces about 1 ton of waste each year.

So, what happens after you throw something away? Across the United States, much of that waste is sent to landfills. But in Lancaster and Dauphin Counties, LCSWMA diverts most municipal solid waste (MSW) from the landfill.

We transform waste into a resource through a four-step process called the Integrated System.

Our Four-Step Process

  • Recycle bin iconRecycle bin iconStep #1

    Minimize Volume and Toxicity of Waste

    The first step minimizes the volume and toxicity of waste. This includes curbside and drop-off recycling programs, which recovers materials to be transformed into other products. Additionally, convenient and safe disposal at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility protects the environment, by keeping these items out of the waste stream.

  • Transfer station building iconTransfer station building iconStep #2

    Waste Consolidation and Transfer

    The second step focuses on waste consolidation and transfer. After local haulers deliver trash to the Transfer Station Complex, our trucks transfer the waste for final processing and disposal. This means less collection trucks on the road and cleaner air.

  • Waste to Energy building iconWaste to Energy building iconStep #3

    Waste Combustion and Energy Recovery

    The third step involves extracting resources from the waste by combusting the post-recycled material at the Lancaster Waste-to-Energy Facility and the Susquehanna Resource Management Complex. This not only saves landfill space, but creates electricity too. In fact, LCSWMA powers the equivalent of 45,000 area homes with trash.

  • Landfill iconLandfill iconStep #4

    Minimal Landfilling

    The final step, for the small percentage of waste that cannot be recycled or converted into energy, is disposed at the state-of the-art, environmentally sound Frey Farm Landfill.

More Information