Out of sight, out of mind. This is the most common train of thought when it comes to garbage. The Environmental Resource Center, however, is putting that topic in plain view of the public, having started Monday, April 9, with a presentation to the Hailey City Council.
With funding from Blaine County and assistance from city officials throughout the Wood River Valley and beyond, the Ketchum-based ERC is in the process of creating a Solid Waste Management Plan that would give the county a comprehensive strategy for dealing with this issue as it looks toward the future.
Currently, no such plan exists.
Blaine County is one of seven counties that formed Southern Idaho Solid Waste in 1992 to create a communal landfill near Burley. That landfill is the terminus for the garbage taken to Ohio Gulch, north of Hailey, while recyclable materials are sent from the Resource Recovery Center to different markets. Inert waste, such as concrete or other materials that won't break down or harm groundwater, remains at the county's transfer station.
In December 2005, SISW retained SCS Engineers, specialists in landfill, solid waste and environmental sciences, to study and make recommendations for Blaine County.
Their report advised two major courses of action: to either rebuild or update the Resource Recovery Center, and to create a countywide solid waste management plan.
The first recommendation has been implemented, and the center is already undergoing renovations. The second, however, is much further reaching and requires lengthy amounts of research and time.
Funded by the County Commission and facilitated by the ERC, this collaborative effort will include input from SISW, Clear Creek Disposal, city officials and members of the public.
The aim is to create a method for providing current and future decision-makers at all levels of local government with critical information that would better assist in long-term planning.
This will include collection and interpretation of solid waste data and setting goals to be achieved through implementation of the plan.
Colleen Teevin, program director of the ERC, stresses the importance of this undertaking and its immediate importance.
"Ohio Gulch will be filled in two to three years because we're not planning ahead."
