Wyoming Waste Systems to provide curb-side recycling

With Wyoming Waste Systems starting to accept curb-side recycling this week, the company is working to educate residents about what is and isn’t acceptable in their recycling bins.

According to a flyer the company will distribute, residents must clean their recyclable items before placing them in the bin. People should place the items directly in the bin, and not in plastic bags,

Residents can place printed materials such as junk mail, newspapers, magazines, catalogs and phone books in the bin. They can also placed clean paper, milk cartons, paper egg cartons, cereal boxes and flattened cardboard as well. Aluminum, steel and tin cans can also be recycled, as well as plastic jugs and bottles with the caps removed.

While speaking to the Green River City Council last week, Michelle Foote, WWS site manager in Rock Springs, said the plastic used in the caps is a different than what’s used for the containers themselves and isn’t capable of being recycled. The caps tend to jam the equipment used in breaking down plastic bottles if they’re not removed.

Items not to be included in the bin include aerosol cans, tires, Styrofoam products, juice boxes, clothing, electronics, plastic bags, batteries, dishes and paper plates, plants, hoses, toys and pizza boxes. Despite being made of cardboard, pizza boxes get contaminated by grease from the pizzas they contain, making them unsuitable for recycling.

A compactor was installed in Green River’s solid waste transfer station last week. Foote said once they complete a load, it would be transported to Rocky Mountain Recycling in Salt Lake City, which will sort and recycle the products.

If recycling bins are found to have contaminated or non-recycling materials inside them, Foote said residents would be warned by having a sticker placed on the bin. She said trucks picking up recycling have a camera placed near the loading hopper, which allows drivers to see what is being picked up. For residents who continually place unwanted materials in their bins, Foote said they would be warned by additional stickers on the bins, as well as by letters and phone calls. After those options are exhausted, Foote said they would have to remove the cart.