Ten Sleep still seeking recycling solution

TEN SLEEP – The Washakie County Conservation District (WCCD) Board held a meeting Monday to discuss the loss of the recycling program in Ten Sleep, and options going forward.

In 2008, the WCCD purchased a recycling transport trailer for Ten Sleep, intended to collect the town’s recycling materials for hauling and disposal in Worland. The program was suspended in September when the sponsoring agency, 4-H, retired from the initiative. In response, the Town of Ten Sleep returned the trailer to the WWCD, and requested a wide range of changes in the program to help attract a new volunteer to retrieve and empty the container on a weekly basis.

At a special work session on Oct. 6, the Ten Sleep town council, mayor and WCCD Director Tori Dietz discussed solutions, and possible changes. The town suggested that WCCD provide an additional trailer, and increase the amount they are willing to pay for mileage. (The WCCD previously paid $50 per trip to the Worland Sanitary Landfill.)

During the WCCD board meeting Monday, the district decided to keep the program as it is, and did not vote for an additional trailer, a $10,000 investment, or an increase in paid mileage. Instead, the WCCD is awaiting Ten Sleep Mayor Jack Haggerty to find a new service agency or volunteer group to handle the recycling effort. “We will start an outreach program to educate the community about what can and can’t be recycled in the county, but for now Ten Sleep’s trailer is parked at the Conservation District office until further notice,” said Dietz.

Dietz stated that the Town of Ten Sleep doesn’t want the current dumpsters on their property, and Pete Smet has been contacted to provide possible recycling dumpsters to Ten Sleep’s local bars, who contribute a great deal of recycling materials. The Ten Sleep council and mayor have been invited to the WCCD’s Jan. 18, 2016 board meeting, to be held in Ten Sleep, to discuss the program and find a permanent solution.