Recycled discussion

Recycling was, again, the hot topic of discussion for the Upper Platte River Solid Water Disposal District (UPRSWDD) during their May 1 meeting held at the Encampment/Riverside Branch Library. With the price of baled old corrugated cardboard (OCC) showing no sign of moving up from $0 per ton, the Saratoga Transfer Station is finding itself holding onto the bales of cardboard.

The UPRSWDD also set the dates and times for two education workshops in June and July, held the second reading of their budget and changed the location of their south Valley meetings.

Recycled discussion

The discussion of recycling, specifically over cardboard, came up as Ron Munson was giving the board his site reports. Munson informed the UPRSWDD board that he had spoke with Beau Peck of InterWest Paper in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“I talked to Beau yesterday. He said everyone’s piling up the cardboard. That’s all they can do with it. It ain’t worth anything,” said Munson.

Up until recently, Munson has been taking recyclables to Laramie along with the municipal solid waste (MSW), which costs the UPRSWDD $160 per ton to dispose of. According to Raymer, when the price of cardboard was closer to $40 per ton, the money received from recyclables would either pay the freight fees or put the board at zero cost for the MSW. Now, as China’s “National Sword” policy continues to put the pinch on recycling in the United States, the recycling is adding to the overall freight cost.

“Anybody got any ideas?” asked Raymer

“I think could ask that question nationwide right now,” replied Leroy Stephenson, UPRSWDD board member.

Further discussion saw Stephenson ask Munson the round trip cost to haul recycling to Cheyenne, instead of Laramie, which has recycling tipping fees of $63 per ton. Munson informed the board that it cost him approximately $800 for a round trip to Cheyenne. Stephenson informed the rest of the board that it would be cheaper to pay Munson to haul recycling to Cheyenne instead of Laramie.

“So, at $32 a ton, if it costs him $800 to run to Cheyenne and back, that’s $32 a ton for a 25 ton load,” Stephenson said.

With it being cheaper to take recycling to Cheyenne instead of Laramie, the UPRSWDD board directed Munson to do just that. This will include the baled OCC, but not plastics and glass, which are still being placed in the construction and demolition pit at the Saratoga Transfer Station.

Educating on recycling

In a similar conversation, following the urging of UPRSWDD board member Schelby Merrill, who was unable to attend the May 1 meeting, two educational workshops will be set before the regular meetings in June and July. Raymer provided a brief preview of what that workshop may look like to those present as he explained what different recyclable material was worth using information provided by InterWest Paper.

According to the most recent pricing information; loose glass currently costs $100 per ton to dispose of, baled mix rigids No. 1 and 2 (plastic bottles) costs $60 per ton to dispose of, baled occ sits at $0 per ton, steel cans are worth $5 per ton, office paper is worth $40 per ton and aluminum cans are worth $600 per ton.

The first informational workshop will take place at 6:30 p.m. on June 5 at the Saratoga Town Hall and will be livestreamed on the Saratoga Sun Facebook page.

Budgeting time

The two other major pieces of business for the board involved holding the second reading of the Fiscal Year 2019/2020 budget with few changes aside from the inclusion of the State Lands Investment Board loan and grant for the closure of the Saratoga landfill and selecting a new location for the UPRSWDD to meet in the Encampment/Riverside area.

Following a meeting held in the Riverside Town Hall, the board felt it was easier to meet in that building instead of meeting at the Encampment/Riverside Branch Library.

The next meeting of the UPRSWDD board will be at 7 p.m. on June 5 at the Saratoga Town Hall.