The impacts of the nation's economic woes are extending all the way to the street corner, or more specifically, to the bright blue recycling bins homeowners put out for pickup each week.
Here in Blaine County, where the phrase "reduce, reuse and recycle" has attracted its fair share of converts, the downturn in the economy is forcing officials to rethink their recycling policies. Last week, Blaine County Commissioner Larry Schoen invited Terry Schultz, director of the seven-county Southern Idaho Solid Waste District, to speak about the drastic reductions in prices commodities buyers are paying for recyclable materials.
Across the globe, buyers are paying less for cardboard, aluminum and other recyclables, which in turn is making it more difficult to fund local recycling programs.
"We need to re-examine those economics," Schoen said.
From a practical standpoint, the changes in the local recycling scene can be seen at the county's Ohio Gulch Transfer Station on the east side of the Wood River Valley. There, bails of recycled cardboard are beginning to pile up as buyers pay less for the raw materials. That in turn makes the economics of selling and transporting the recycled materials not pencil out as well as they once did, Schoen said.
He said that when the economy was up, the demand for recyclables wasn't an issue.
"There was a ready market," he said.
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According to Schultz, the worldwide commodities market—which includes items like recyclables—really tanked last October as the nation's economic woes escalated. He said that impacted the market for recycled goods, including those originating from southern Idaho.
He said the downturn in demand for recyclables that's hit the local area so hard is primarily linked to "what's happening in China," one of the main buyers of recycled materials worldwide.
Except for glass and newsprint, Schultz expects the big drop in commodity prices to continue for some time. He said that will force counties that are a part of the Southern Idaho Solid Waste District to rethink how they run their recycling programs.
"The bottom line is we're anticipating roughly a $100,000 decrease in the value of products we can market," he said.
Schultz suggested several areas where the county could reduce costs. He mentioned the possibility of cutting back on funds the county provides the Ketchum-based Environmental Resource Center for educational programs, delaying work on a new transfer station at Smiley Creek and not hiring someone to fill a position that's split between the Ohio Gulch and Carey transfer stations.
However, the county shouldn't stall efforts to purchase federal land next to Ohio Gulch for expansion of the transfer station, Schultz said.
"That will serve Blaine County's needs for a long time," he said.
For Ohio Gulch, the drop in the demand for recyclables isn't the only woe. There's been a 20 percent drop in materials, both trash and recyclables, arriving at the facility as well.
While that may not seem a problem from an environmental standpoint, Schultz estimated that Blaine County can expect a $350,000 to $400,000 drop in solid waste revenues this year. That revenue helps cover the county's operational costs at Ohio Gulch, estimated at about $2 million this year alone.
Al and Stephanie McCourt drop off a load of cardboard at the recycling center at the Ohio Gulch Transfer Station, located in the hills east of the Wood River Valley. Reduced prices for recycled goods like cardboard and aluminum are leading local officials to look for ways to cut costs at the recycling center. Photo by David N. Seelig
