Lakeland Disposal Service, Inc.

Overview

The Lakeland Disposal Service site covers 39 acres near Claypool in Kosciusko County, Indiana. It operated as a landfill from 1974 until a court order shut it down in 1978 due to improper operations. The site was placed on the National Priorities List in 1989 and has gone through decades of investigation and cleanup work. It is currently in the operation and maintenance phase, with all major construction finished.

The landfill received both general refuse and hazardous waste. Buried materials included at least 18,000 drums of paint sludge, 8,900 tons of plating sludge, and two million gallons of plating sludge. That plating sludge contained hydroxides of aluminum, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, tin, selenium, and zinc. The waste also included cyanide and drummed chemicals with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). EPA has identified 80 contaminants of concern across groundwater and debris at the site. These include benzene, toluene, vinyl chloride, trichloroethane, tetrachloroethene, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and phthalate compounds.

Cleanup began under a 1989 consent order signed by potentially responsible parties and EPA. The remedy finalized in 1994 includes a landfill cap with passive gas vents, a subsurface slurry wall to stop groundwater from spreading, groundwater treatment and monitoring, fencing, deed restrictions, and removal of contaminated soil from a hot spot area using low-temperature thermal desorption. That soil removal was completed in 2004. EPA updated the remedy in 1998 to specify the thermal desorption approach. Remedial construction wrapped up in September 2002, and ongoing operation and maintenance began in September 2004.

EPA confirmed in its most recent five-year review, completed in June 2025, that cleanup actions remain protective of human health and the environment in the short term. Human exposure is currently under control across the entire site. Groundwater contamination has been stabilized, and no unacceptable discharge to surface water is expected. The site was designated sitewide ready for anticipated reuse in October 2015. Zoning restrictions prevent residential and other incompatible land uses. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List, and EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program is working with the community to support productive reuse of the property.

Community members who want to learn more or ask questions can contact the EPA's Remedial Project Manager. Site records, including 106 administrative documents covering enforcement actions and site management, are available through EPA's Superfund database.