Many opportunities to recycle

WORLAND — With the Washakie County Solid Waste Disposal District starting to charge tipping fees at the Worland landfill, and the Ten Sleep Landfill transitioning to a transfer station within the next year, Washakie County residents and local governments are considering supplementing refuse disposal with increased recycling efforts.

Currently, Worland has no city-wide recycling, although the city council has been evaluating the process. In the meantime, recycling exists in the form of drop-off points various civic and business organizations. Alongside the city’s collection of separated cardboard and paper (with dumpsters placed around the city), Reese and Ray’s also collects cardboard for recycling. The Worland Senior Center collects clear plastic bottles aluminum cans, and printer and laser cartridges. The Outlaw 4-H club collects aluminum cans, while South Flat collects tabs for donation to the Ronald McDonald House of Billings. Lids and cans can both be dropped off at the Washakie County Extension Office at the Worland Community Center Complex.

In Ten Sleep, the landfill currently recycles metals through Smet’s, using the proceeds to help fund the landfill operating costs. The Worland landfill also uses Smet’s for metal recycling, however, they recycle all paper, cardboard, and printed materials through Sage Recycling and Waste Solutions, of Windsor, Colo. Sage sends a truck based out of Montana to pick up the materials for transfer to a recycling center.

For the town of Ten Sleep, the Washakie County Conservation District purchased three bins in 1998 for paper, aluminum, cardboard, and printed materials. In 2008, the WCCD purchased a transport trailer for Ten Sleep, eliminating the need to empty individual bins, and instead haul the entire receptacle to recycling. The program is sponsored by Ten Sleep Sage Stompers 4-H.

Ten Sleep 4-H routinely collects, sorts, and delivers the recyclables to Smet’s for processing. For their efforts, Sage Stompers 4-H is reimbursed for their mileage by the WCCD. The 4-H club retains all proceeds from their aluminum recycling efforts. Ten Sleep FFA maintains the recycling of cardboard and paper at the Ten Sleep School, also reimbursed for mileage by the WCCD.

In addition to daily recycling efforts, WCCD works with the Reduce Reuse Recycle Coalition (RRRC) to sponsor drives to recycle Christmas trees, old appliances, paints and oils, batteries, and computers, at no charge.

The RRRC is made up of the Washakie County Cooperative Extension Service, Washakie County Weed and Pest District, Washakie County Homeland Security, Washakie County Public Health, Worland Bureau of Land Management, and the Washakie County Solid Waste Disposal District.

The RRRC is scheduling their next collection event for May 2016.