While many Green River residents use Wyoming Waste Systems' curb-side recycling program, the costs associated with recycling are rising, meaning that recycling not only isn't cost-effective but could end up costing citizens even more.
Michelle Foote, the site manager for Wyoming Waste, spoke to the Green River City Council during a workshop before the November 21 meeting to give an update for the company and discuss the recycling program.
Over this past year the costs associated with processing recycling saw a large increase, Foote explained, which was largely due to the commodities market being unfavorable. Wyoming Waste saw an increase of $10,716 for this year compared to 2022. In 2023, the company paid an average of $76.97 per ton for materials to be processed, and they are expecting the same expense for 2024. Foote also explained that the $10,000 increase was just the processing fee, and that Wyoming Waste also pays an additional $3,000 roughly for transportation to Salt Lake City. That transportation cost isn't figured into Wyoming Waste's budget and is absorbed by the company.
Because of rising costs, Wyoming Waste wants the council to consider approving a price increase. In addition to the company's base increase of 3.7%, a proposed 0.55% would be added, bringing the total increase to 4.25% overall. This means that the current rate of $39.42 per month would increase to $41.10, adding an extra $1.68 per month for residential services.
Foote also explained the process of the recycling program to the council. Recyclable materials including cardboard, paperboard, plastics, tin cans, aluminum cans and paper are gathered in recycling bins. The bins are emptied and put into a trailer, which is then hauled to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF, or "Murf") in Salt Lake City, Utah where the material is sorted out. Once the material is sorted, the Murf looks at how much of each material there is and looks at what the market is doing, like where the materials are going and if companies will pay for them. Wyoming Waste is then charged for the whole load with a price per ton.
Currently the main material that companies will pay to recycle is cardboard, according to Foote, while materials like plastic often end up needing to be paid for to be processed.
With these facts in mind, Councilmember Sherry Bushman asked Foote if recycling is actually cost effective, and if not, why do we have the program at an increased cost to residents?
"No, it's not cost effective," Foote answered. "And I don't know that there's any point in time that it will be more cost effective or better."
She said that considering whether it will ever be cost effective is hard to predict, but she doesn't foresee it happening in the near future due to the way the recycling market is.
Still, the recycling program has been successful in many ways. Foote estimated that roughly 75-80% of residents use the program. By September, Wyoming Waste had taken 247,980 pounds of recyclables to the Murf in Salt Lake for the year.
"I think there's a great deal of residents that like the program and that know their stuff is being recycled," Foote said.
However, Foote also admitted - "If we didn't have the program, would there be a cost savings? Yes."
Without the curb-side recycling program, the almost 124 tons of recyclables would be taken to the landfill, where the rate is $65 per ton.
Considering what is worth recycling, Councilmember George Jost suggested the possibility of focusing on cardboard.
Foote said there is a possibility to consider not taking items like plastics and focusing on cardboard.
"It is up for discussion, absolutely," Foote said.
She added that if the program only took cardboard and paperboard, it could be transported to Ray Lovato Recycling Center in Rock Springs instead of the Murf in Salt Lake City, and Ray Lovato would process it for $43 a ton.
"There is definitely an option to change it if that's more favorable to the council and to the city," Foote said.
Councilmember Bushman said she liked the possibility of having different options for the recycling program, such as partnering with Ray Lovato, especially since preventing a cost increase to residents is ideal.
"I like the program, I'm all about recycling, but we've gotta make sure it makes business sense," Bushman said.
The other point Foote wanted to bring to the council was the possibility of changing the yard waste collection program to not be all year long. She pointed out that yard waste isn't collected during the winter months like November and December, but because of the program requirements they still run the route during those months. Wyoming Waste is hoping for language change to make collection from mid-April to mid-November, with one week in January to collect Christmas trees. When Councilmember Ron Williams asked if changing the program would have any savings, Foote explained it would help save on labor and the driver doing the route could do other work during those months.
Because the workshop session was presented as a time for discussion and three council members were absent from the meeting that night, no decisions regarding Wyoming Waste Systems' programs were made. Councilmember Bushman said she would like more detail on different options for the recycling program to be presented to the council in the future.
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