Recycle Utah needs $1 from every car that comes in to recycle. The center is currently operating $11,000 over budget per month, and materials that sell for less than they cost to haul or store must go.

On Dec. 15, the center will shorten its hours and stop accepting glass, said Insa Riepen, executive director.

Jeramy Lund, president of the board, said glass is the most responsible item to stop accepting since it has little to no effect on the environment when sitting in a landfill.

Companies that used to purchase cardboard have slowed down, and while some like Rocky Mountain Recycling are storing the cardboard until the market improves, Recycle Utah cannot. If its financial situation does not improve, the center will also stop accepting it in a few weeks.

About 300 to 500 vehicles stop by the center a day, Lund said. If each of those cars dropped a dollar in the donation bucket, the crisis would be immediately ameliorated.

Glass has never been a profitable commodity to recycle, Riepen explained. It usually only fetches a few dollars per ton. Richard Leonard of the Glass Recycling Group processes clear and green glass for making fiberglass, but the slowing economy has reduced demand.

The real reason for not accepting glass is that Recycle Utah can no longer afford to truck it down to Leonard.

Previously, Asian buyers of metal, plastic and paper products have paid high prices in anticipation of a surging economy in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. The profit made off those items helped fund the recycling of less profitable items.

But the global economic slump has curbed that demand, ruining Recycle Utah’s ability to fund the transport of material to Salt Lake County, Lund explained.

“I’ve been in this job for 10 years and never seen (the market) bottom out, and it’s totally bottomed out, gone,” Riepen said.

Recycle Utah receives one-third of its funding through governments, one-third from the commodities market and one-third from donations. Since the income from commodities is down, donations are needed to fill the gap or the center will have to accept fewer types of materials, he said.

There is no way to enforce the $1 request, Riepen explained, so all they can do is ask. Furthermore, Lund does not want members of the nonprofit or others who donate through other means to pay the $1. Their target is people who enjoy the convenience of the center but have not supported its existence as a member.

Lund expects the slump in the market to last at least 6 months. After that time, the market may improve and it may be possible to return to normal.

For-profit recyclers are faring slightly better since they run a leaner operation. Recycle Utah’s employees also run outreach and education programs that serve the community.

Large operations like Rocky Mountain Recycling have contracts to receive a set price if they supply a set tonnage, said Larry Gibbons, business development manager. In anticipation of an improved market, he is storing cardboard, but can’t accept much more until the market improves.

Smaller companies, like The Green Machine, are having a harder time selling recycling to businesses.

Owner Stu Nachlas collects materials from local businesses and takes them to hubs like Recycle Utah. He said he used to be able to sell people on environmental responsibility and financial savings. The more items he collected, the less companies had to pay for waste removal. As recycling becomes less profitable, Nachlas said the inconvenience of recycling is becoming a tougher sell.

Recycling is still a good idea, but when price-wise it’s the same as throwing stuff in the trash, he worries about his industry’s future.

Dirk Spangenberg of Curb It Recycling and County Curbside Recycling, said companies like his and Nachlas’ must stay cheaper than waste disposal to survive.

Spangenberg is still accepting glass and cardboard and is still turning a slight profit with only a small handful of employees.

“We’re not going to shut our doors on anything. It’s a market, it goes up and down,” he said.

Still, he worries because his transportation costs are too high.

All of this is worrisome to Cliff Blonquist in charge of waste management for the county. The landfill has a good 50 to 80 years of space left if managed well, but that will require people to reduce, reuse and recycle.

“All the materials we had been diverting we’re going to stockpile and not add to the landfill. We believe we can ride this out,” he said.

Burnable items like mattresses and wood waste used to go to a cement plant near Devil’s Slide that used it to power a kiln. Unfortunately, the slowing economy has forced the plant to quit producing until January.

Currently the landfill diverts 50 to 60 percent of items dropped off there, but less recycling makes that difficult, he said.

“It’s time to pay forward,” she said.

And despite this tough economic time, Riepen insisted that recycling is always cheaper and better for the economy and environment than filling a landfill.

New hours starting Dec. 15:

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon.- Fri.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat. – Sun.

The ReStore construction thrift store, moving box and packing materials re-use program and the EPS packing foam collection program will continue.