The Blaine County Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday to decide whether the county can shoulder the burden of managing recycling.
The Blaine County Resource Recovery Center north of Hailey, which handles the county's recyclables, such as glass, plastic and mixed paper, may soon be managed by the county instead of by the Southern Idaho Solid Waste District.
The district, created in 1992, has been managing the recycling center since taking over management of the Ohio Gulch transfer facility the same year. However, recycling is not the district's area of expertise.
"Solid Waste is not a recycle management company," said Brett Gelsky, who currently manages the recycling center at Ohio Gulch. "[The center] just didn't mesh into the overall picture of what Solid Waste wants to do with the district."
Terry Schultz, former executive director of the district, stated in a budget hearing last month that the district would prefer that the county take over management of the center.
The county commissioners said they were unwilling to make that decision during the meeting and set the public hearing to allow county residents to weigh in on the subject.
One of the main problems with the current center is communication, said Craig Barry, executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Resource Center in Ketchum. Barry said the ERC fields more than 600 calls a year from residents who are confused about what or how they can recycle.
"SISW is not being productive and responsive to the community," Barry said.
Commission Chair Larry Schoen said communication was one of the areas he thought the county could improve over the district.
"I think that we can be more responsive to the community in terms of the recycling program and how the recycling program is operated," Schoen said. "People will have a better local forum for airing their concerns regarding the program."
Complicating the matter is the fact that prices for commodities such as glass and plastic are down, causing the recycling center to lose money. Last year, the center lost $37,000, and this year's deficit is projected to be $60,000.
Schoen stated that the center would still be funded through tipping fees and through county funding, no matter which entity manages the center.
The transfer station's tipping fees will also be up for discussion at Tuesday's hearing. The fees haven't been raised since the district was created in 1992.
According to Schultz, the amount of solid waste being dropped at the station has decreased dramatically, due mainly to the decline in construction waste. Less solid waste means less revenue, and Schultz said at the county budget hearing that measures must be taken to reduce the station's losses.
The suggested tipping fee is $65 a ton for solid waste, well over the $39-per-ton average fee in the district. The fee is higher, Schultz said, due to overhead costs and the relatively low amount of solid waste the station processes.
Commissioner Tom Bowman expressed concern about the recycling center's finances, suggesting that rather than raising tipping fees, residents who wish to recycle would be willing to pay for the privilege.
"Who should pay for recycling—people who recycle or people who don't recycle?" Bowman asked.
However, despite the losses and the added responsibility for the county, Schoen said the public has continually shown support for the recycling program.
"It was the citizens of Blaine County that put the program together 20 years ago," Schoen said. "It's hard for me to think of a policy that has stronger public support."
The public hearing on the management of the recycling center is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the Blaine County Courthouse in Hailey.
Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com
A non-recyclable plastic bag mingles with recycled glass at the Blaine County Resource Recovery Center at the Ohio Gulch Transfer Station. If the county takes over management of the center, the commissioners say they hope to eliminate confusion over what materials are and are not recyclable. Photo by David N. Seelig
