Recycling program moves forward
By KARLA POMEROY
Basin Citizens for Recycling got the go ahead from the Basin Town Council to proceed with raising funds to purchase a recycling trailer.
Following a presentation by BCR member Aaron Kania, the council voted unanimously (with Heath Hopkin absent) to allow the group to proceed with recycling efforts and initially committing the town to have an employee take the trailer to Powell Valley Recycling Center twice a month.
Councilor Deb Rathbun said she was not comfortable designating an employee more often than that at this time because it takes about four hours of a work day to take the trailer to Powell, unload it and bring the trailer back.
In support of the motion, Councilor Dave Cooper said, “I’d like to see the town get behind (the project).”
Before the vote, Kania told the council that he and Wendy Taylor met with the Powell Valley Recycling Center board about the project. The board has partnered with the Basin group, which means any donations would be tax deductible since the board is a non-profit organization.
The group is looking at purchasing a Pro-tainer 16-cubic yard trailer for $14,300 plus costs for shipping. Kania said the trailer provides eight compartments for various materials and future flexibility. Once purchased, Kania said they would begin recycling newspapers, magazines, phonebooks, glass, steel and tin cans, aluminum cans and type 1 and 2 plastic.
He said the trailer can hold more than 4,000 pounds of material. At a price of 4 cents per pound, this would cost $160 to dispose of at the landfill. Kania estimated the cost to the town, including labor costs and vehicle expenses at $150, thus a savings of about $10 per load. Another option would be for the town to hire a part-time employee at slightly less cost than using a full-time town employee.
Kania said the glass products are taken by the center to the Park County Landfill for free and the glass is then crushed and used as landfill cover. He said the Big Horn County landfills, if they had a crusher, could also use the glass as a cover as his understanding was that dirt cover was in short supply at the landfills.
The center will pay the town for aluminum cans annually, Kania said.
Mayor Phil Juillard said there was not much money to be gained from recycling paper and other products. Kania said the main purpose of the recycling program is not to receive funds for the material but to eliminate the material from going to the landfill, thus cutting some costs to the town.
The BCR also spoke to Big Horn County Fair Manager Howard Gernant, who Kania said agreed to allow the trailer to be placed on the north end of the fairgrounds on Fourth Street. Wendy said they would like the town to place a Dumpster at the site to help keep the area clean. She said they will be talking to the Paintrock FFA chapter to discuss keeping the area clean as a community project.
Lynn Davies, director of Big Horn Adolescent Program, who was in attendance for another agenda item, said the group home children are always looking for community service projects and they would be happy to help clean up the area. She said they have offered other groups looking at recycling that they would pick up recycling items once a month from homebound residents who are unable to take material to the trailer.