Superior’s Garbage Gamble: How a City Ignored Warnings and Is About to Trash Its Citizens

Grab your nose and your wallet, folks—because the stink coming out of Superior, Wisconsin isn’t just from the landfill. It’s from a decade-plus of bureaucratic napping, willful ignorance, and good ol’ government-grade mismanagement that now threatens to make trash the city’s most valuable export.

The 2019 RW Report: The Ignored Canary in the Coal Mine

Let’s rewind to 2019. A little document—maybe you’ve

heard of it?—the RW Report. This wasn’t just some bedtime reading for landfill enthusiasts. No, it waved red flags like it was signaling aircraft on a carrier deck. It warned the city that the Moccasin Mike landfill was running out of room. And what did Superior do with that information?

Absolutely nothing.

Instead of making moves—like applying for permits, planning new cells, or investing in long-term waste solutions—they just sat there. Watching garbage pile up like college frat house dishes. But hey, why plan for the future when you can ride the gravy train of a $5 million-a-year landfill operation subsidized 80% by WLSSD?

Let’s just say if foresight were fuel, Superior couldn’t power a tricycle.

Kick the Can… and the Contract… Down the Road

Now, the city’s Public Works Committee is pushing to extend the landfill agreement through June 2026, because—shocker—that’s when the landfill will be completely full. You know, the thing they were told six years ago.

The city’s environmental manager cheerfully explains that they’ll soon be wrapping the landfill “in dirt, plastic, and grass.” Great—because nothing says ‘job well done’ like burrito-wrapping your failures.

Once the lid’s on, garbage will have to be trucked 100+ miles away to Keewatin or Canyon, Minnesota. That means higher costs, more greenhouse gases, and a logistical headache only a bureaucrat could love.

Janigo’s Jedi Mind Tricks

Public Works Director Todd Janigo claims the contract has “kept garbage cheap for Superior residents.” Sure, and cigarettes used to be doctor-recommended too. You don’t get points for keeping costs down today if it means exploding costs tomorrow. It’s not budgeting—it’s kicking a flaming garbage can into your neighbor’s yard and calling it problem solved.

Janigo also insisted that “volume studies” consistently say we’re fine till 2026. That’s comforting… until one of those “studies” suddenly says 2025 and we’ve got ten days to notify WLSSD and exactly zero backup plans. This is the municipal version of not studying for the test because you “feel good about it.”

The Real Cost of Lazy Leadership

Here’s where it gets uglier: When the landfill closes, hauling trash more than 100 miles isn’t just environmentally irresponsible—it’s financially suicidal. Higher transportation costs will land squarely on the shoulders of residents already paying more for everything else from eggs to rent.

And what’s the city doing to soften the blow? As far as we can tell, they’re just crossing fingers and praying for volume studies to hold up like a 1990s RadioShack walkie-talkie.

We Were Warned. We Were Lazy. Now We Pay.

So here we are: A known problem, ignored for years. A 2019 report collecting more dust than a Blockbuster card. And a city leadership that treated long-term planning like a dirty diaper—out of sight, out of mind.

Now taxpayers are the ones left holding the bag. And it’s full of garbage.

TL;DR:
Superior knew in 2019 that their landfill was living on borrowed time. Instead of acting, they let it rot—literally. Now they’re scrambling to extend contracts and figure out where to truck trash after 2026, with rising costs inevitably dumped on residents. The whole thing smells worse than the landfill itself.

This isn’t just garbage.
It’s governance by compost.