Centre County Commissioner Chairman John Saylor supports the county's solid waste authority's recent decision to revise its disposal contract with R. S. Carlin, a local landfill operator, he said yesterday.

"They had a difficult decision to make; I feel they made the proper choice," Saylor said.

Carlin, who has been doing business with the county since 1972, said, "I'm satisfied with the revised contract."

Donald Bachman, the authority's executive director, said Carlin has been charging the county $8 per ton of waste deposited at the landfill since 1985. The county will now pay Carlin $22.50 per ton of waste for 1989.

"In 1990, the price goes up to $32.50 a ton," he said.

Saylor said if a different landfill were used, the owner probably would charge the county more than Carlin does.

Bachman said the county's contract with Carlin extends to April 9, 1990, when Carlin is scheduled to close the landfill in accordance with Department of Environmental Resources regulations.

"If the DER approves an extension (on the landfill), our contract will last until June 30, 1990," Bachman said.

He added the basis for a DER extension would be additional room in the landfill or the unavailability of another landfill.

"There are two elements to waste disposal: tipping and transportation," Saylor said. Tipping is a term the solid waste industry uses to describe the fee the landfill owner charges to deposit the waste, Saylor said.

Bachman said the county currently uses two landfill sites -- Carlin's and the Clinton County landfill. He said the county deposits five to 10 percent of its waste at the Clinton County's site, which is located near McElhattan. Greater use of the Clinton County's landfill, the next closest available site, would increase transportation charges significantly, Saylor said.

The Centre County authority "had no alternative but to go the way they did," he said.

Saylor predicts the cost of using landfills will steadily increase over the years as a result of more stringent regulations imposed by the Department of Environmental Resources.

"The cost is going to keep rising no matter where the landfill is,"he said.

Bachman added the Clinton County solid waste authority is in the process of building a new double-lined landfill in accordance with the new DER regulations. He said the liners are made from high density polyethylene, a substance impervious to water.

Saylor said that addition is for contributing money to a post-closure fund to provide for any problems after the fill is closed. Carlin will have to pay for a liner to cover the landfill. He said since Carlin's landfill was built before new DER regulations were passed last year, the owner must cover the space with a liner to protect the environment.

Bachman said Carlin came to the Centre County authority last year to negotiate new fees for the county's waste disposal.

"He wanted to talk to us because the new DER regulations were coming into effect," he said.

"A landfill is an expensive thing to operate," Saylor said.

Bachman said the authority passed the revision last Wednesday by a 6-0-1 vote. Ron Iadarola, who works for People's National Bank in Snow Shoe, abstained from voting because the bank does business with Carlin.