Casper's plan to open a new landfill that would take garbage from throughout the region is moving forward.

Bids are being accepted now for the new Central Wyoming Regional Landfill, to be built next to the current Casper landfill and operational by January 2008, city Solid Waste Manager Cindy Langston said.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality had ordered that the current landfill be closed, and officials say the new facility will meet the agency's rules and provide other communities in the region a place to get rid of trash.

It's a matter of economies of scale, Langston said. The more trash that comes in to one facility, the less it costs residents and operators. That makes regionalization an appealing option for Casper and smaller communities, many of which are also faced with DEQ-mandated closure or installing expensive pit liners.

Among the communities that may eventually send their garbage to Casper are Douglas, Glenrock, Hanna, Kaycee, Lusk, Rawlins, Midwest and Manville. Similar plans for regional landfills are being considered in other parts of the state.

The DEQ wants the current Casper landfill closed because the pits are not lined and some groundwater contamination has occurred, Langston said. The extent of contamination is being studied now. The 100-acre landfill will have to be capped, which could cost around $6 million - as long as those studies don't reveal large-scale cleanup needs. Funding will come from the 1 percent sales tax approved by voters in the last election, from city reserves and, possibly, from a State Loan and Investment Board grant.

Casper officials have said they hope that with participation of other communities and aid from the state, residents' garbage bills won't go up significantly as a result of new landfill costs.