A new trash contract that will take effect in June places more emphasis on recycling. Residents will receive a 96-gallon recycling cans and 65-gallon trash cans. Recycle Utah Executive Insa Riepen calls the contract a positive thing for the environment despite the potential negative effects it may have on the recycling center.
The new trash contract was awarded to Allied Waste last month by Summit County Manager Bob Jasper who designed the contract with a goal to increase recycling and the longevity of the county’s landfill.
“There are limited places to put a landfill in this county so we need to be creative and sustainable,” Jasper said.
Riepen said the new contract will make recycling possible for a larger audience and achieve the county’s goal of increased sustainability.
“It is a good diversion program for the landfill and recycling will suddenly reach a larger audience,” Riepen said. “But it will have a large impact on our operations and we will have to re-evaluate our center and operations a few months after the program is in place.”
Riepen’s concern is that the expanded recycling program may cause fewer residents to visit the center to recycle both regular items and items that Allied Waste will not accept, which will cause a drop in the center’s revenue.
“We like the new contract, but it will result in less revenue,” she said. “We accept money from the general public when they come and we also sell the materials that we collect at the center.”
The Recycle Center’s most valuable recyclable is metal and Riepen said they will miss the money they receive from soda and soup cans. However, paper is the center’s “bread and butter,” she said.
“With the new recycling bins, people can throw away paper, cardboard, plastic, those types of things,” she said. “But they won’t take glass or packing foam. I do not know if people will make trips to the recycling center just to recycle glass. I think they will just start throwing things like that away.”
Riepen added that since recycling will only be picked up twice a week by Allied Waste, she hopes that residents who have extra recycling or items that are not accepted by Allied still make the trip to the center.
“Anyone who wants to be a better recycler, we are here,” she said. “We do so much more, including e-waste, batteries, we hope people don’t forget to recycle those things.”
Riepen said the county created a “good contract” and she was especially pleased with the review component that allows the county to assess how Allied Waste is doing every few years.
“People who never recycled before now will be introduced to it,” she said. “And that may encourage more people to become dedicated recyclers. We are always here for those who are looking to do more.”
Recycle Utah will host a “Pride in Your Park Day” on May 12 and encourages any service club or organization to spend one hour on that day cleaning up their surroundings in order to make the community more beautiful. Recycle Utah will meet at 9 a.m. at the gazebo in the Park City City Park to hand out trash bags.
For more information contact Recycle Utah at (435)649-9698.