A private company does provide curbside pick up of certain recyclable materials and handles some of the recycle role off bins, but the rest of the operations at the landfill are run by county employees. Windblown trash at the landfill obviously is a problem and a number of solutions have been looked at over the years. The windblown materials causing the problem come from the landfill pit. The trash is covered with dirt at least once a day, at the end of the day. This is a state regulatory requirement that reduces fire risk and provides vector control.
Vector control is a nice way of saying windblown trash and animal intrusion.
The windblown problem occurs as the trash is dumped from the trucks onto the face of the fill and from the loose face of the fill. The wind swirls in the pit and the items Spurgeon mentioned quickly become airborne even in light winds. The quantity of dirt pushed over the trash and how often the trash is covered is a balancing act. The more dirt that is used, the quicker the pit is filled. State regulations require a minimum cover of 6 inches of dirt at the end of the day.