Taking Green River’s curbside recycling to the Rock Springs Landfill is only a temporary solution according to Michelle Foote, Rocks Springs site manager for Wyoming Waste Systems.
Foote said the major problem the company faces is a lack of sorting space. The company used the city’s transfer station to sort the recycling it collected, but has been unable to use the building since a fire occurred September 2018. Foote said they thought they would only be out of the building for a few months, but the transfer station’s closure has lasted longer than anticipated.
Recycling is still accepted at bins located at the transfer station. Foote said the cardboard collected is taken to Pacific Steel and Recycling once a week. Aluminum and tin collected at the site will also be sent to Pacific Steel, while paper will be sent to the Ray Lovato Recycling Center in Rock Springs.
While the transfer station’s closure is one factor into why WWS landfills recycling collected through its curbside recycling service, other problems have caused the company to ship recyclables to the landfill. Foote said of the people utilizing curbside recycling, about half are doing what they should to ensure the materials are free from contamination, while the other half are not.
“A good portion of those materials are going to the landfill due to contamination,” Foote said.
She said contamination of materials can be costly to the company. She said it costs $55 per ton to landfill, contaminated loads taken to a sort facility can cost more than $90 a ton and get sent to a landfill anyway. She said loads containing as little as 1 percent contamination will get landfilled and result in the provider being charged a disposal fee.
“There can be little to no contamination,” she said.
Once the transfer station is operational, Foote said WWS will start an education program to inform residents how recycling should be prepared for pickup.
Changes in the industry have also caused problems for residential recycling. Foote said recycling centers across the country have been forced to close their doors because of changes. One of the largest involves China, a large customer for recycled materials, changing which items the country will accept. This has resulted in recycling centers having difficulty finding places that that will accept those banned materials.
“They can’t find anyone who will take these materials,” Foote said.
She said WWS is working on changes to its recycling program, which may include changes to what materials it can accept, but couldn’t comment further about what the company plans to do.
Regarding communication with residents, Foote said hindsight is 20-20, but WWS believed they would not be out of the transfer station as long as they have been and saw the landfill as a temporary solution.
“I would like to recycle ... I would like to be a good steward to the community,” Foote said.
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