PIERRE, S.D.(DRGNews)- The City of Pierre will ask the state for funds to expand the town’s regional landfill.

Solid Waste Superintendent Val Keller says between the state funding programs, Pierre is requesting more than $1 million in financial assistance.

Keller says Pierre is applying for South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources funds to construct a fourth landfill cell at the site located east of Pierre.

Keller says she doesn’t know how much the city may receive in loans versus grants.

Commissioner Jamie Huizenga says garbage is one of the things a town just has to deal with in one way or another.

Keller says with the amount of tonnage brought in every year, she estimates the new cell will provide disposal capacity for about 14 years. She says after that, Pierre’s current landfill has space for another 10 cells, which are projected to last more than 140 years.

The landfill, serving approximately 40,000 people including communities and rural areas in seven different counties, currently includes three landfill cells. The first was constructed in 2003; the most recent cell was completed in 2015.

As part of it’s Solid Waste Operations, the City operates a baling facility to provide uniform compaction of material, a recycling program to help limit solid waste disposal and a rubble debris pit to dispose of construction materials.