The future of Flathead County’s recycling program is still up in the air, but the message at a recent Solid Waste Board meeting is that the public would like the county to keep the program, even if it means increasing costs.
Recycling has been a county program for 15 years, keeping tons of material out of the landfill but rarely turning a profit. And with costs expected to increase in coming years, the board set out to find a solution for the program.
The county solid waste board held its monthly meeting on July 23 and allowed public comment on the future of the recycling program. There were three options to discuss: continue with the existing 15 recycling sites and ask all county residents to pay an additional $2 per year to cover the costs; keep the annual fee where it is and decrease county recycling sites from 15 to four, located in Columbia Falls, Creston, Somers and the landfill; or get rid of the recycling program all together.
Multiple people spoke at the meeting, every one in favor of keeping the program as it is and paying the additional fee.
“I just think it would be sadder than heck to stop the program; giant steps back,” Helen Pilling told the board.
Flathead County, she said, needs more education about recycling, and the program needs to be as easy as possible for people so they will use it. That might include picking up recycling from residents’ homes, she said, and it would be worth the cost.
Mayre Flowers, executive director of local nonprofit Citizens for a Better Flathead, told the board she thinks the recycling program is invaluable, and that the current situation presents an opportunity for a new solution.
“It is time to convene a recycling roundtable to look at new, effective ways to move forward,” Flowers said.
Citizens for a Better Flathead supports the $2 increase, she said.
The solid waste board also received more than 170 emailed responses from the public regarding the recycling program, with overwhelming support for keeping the program as is.
Woody Nedom, a property owner in Flathead County, wrote, “I strongly encourage the continued implementation of recycling and the widening of this very beneficial program, if possible. Asking county residents to pay $2 per year to maintain the recycling is an incredibly reasonable cost. Frankly, recycling to the greatest extent possible is not an option but a moral obligation and, incidentally, it is good for the economy.”
In a later interview, Flowers said she was pleased with the public support for the recycling program and believes the board is open to solutions and not at all interested in cutting the program.
“I think the public comment just showed there’s a real breadth and depth to people’s commitment,” Flowers said.
There is a recycling workshop scheduled for Aug. 20 at the Earl Bennett Building in Kalispell at 3 p.m. Check www.flathead.mt.gov for updates.