Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
LAYTON — The waste management district servicing Morgan and Davis counties, with the exception of Bountiful, recently approved a new district-wide recycling program.
The initiative, which would require homes to have trash and recycling bins, was developed to divert trash from the Davis Landfill, which has experienced accelerated filling since the Davis Energy Recovery Facility closed in May 2017.
The district hopes to keep the landfill open for another 18 years, but is working to increase the percentage of waste diverted to recycling facilities or compost-processing locations. To prolong reaching capacity at the Davis Landfill, the district plans to transfer a portion of received material to a regional landfill in Tooele County that is run by Waste Management, a private company. The Tooele landfill is 97 miles away from the processing center, so reducing this waste will help to decrease the financial and environmental cost of transport.
Right now, the material recycling center processes materials from neighboring counties, and will have the capacity to hande the projected influx in resident recycling.
Only 10 out of 15 cities within the district have recycling programs, but, according to Nathan Rich, executive director at the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District, participation rates vary widely. While Farmington's mandatory recycling program has 96% participation, Layton's optional recycling is used by only 30% of households. "We felt it was important to lead with a strong program and strong message," he said.
But some voting members of the board felt the plan was moving ahead too quickly.
The waste management district is a public entity, with a 19-member board consisting mostly of mayors and city council members from cities within the district.
The resolution encourages all cities to implement a single-fee structure that includes a garbage can and a recycling can. If residents do not want a recycling can, they would still pay the same bundled fee. Rich said there are two reasons for a bundled plan — efficiency and effectiveness.
"The more people that participate, the lower the unit cost," he said. "The hauler runs the same route if he stops at 10 or 100 houses."
If every household participates, the per household cost remains lower, he said.
Rich admitted to seeing some pushback from cities that feel residents in their areas have not received enough education about this, especially when a fee will be charged regardless of whether a bundled program that meets the districts criteria exists within 18 months. In the end, only Fruit Heights Mayor John Pohlman voted "no" on the resolution.
"The program in and of itself is great," Pohlman said. "It comes down to cost. I am against the timing of it."
The mayor is a supporter of the bundled program, and agrees the best way to sort recycling is at the curb. But representing the smallest member city, he said he believes it would make more sense to pilot the program in bigger cities with a larger impact on the overall district's waste, noting Fruit Heights already has the fourth-largest per-capita diversion of waste through its green waste collection program.
The district will assist with a uniform educational campaign to prepare residents for the changes, and teach best practices for sorting household items. Additional recycling charges per household will depend on the contract of individual cities, and each locality will be responsible for developing policies to address households experiencing financial hardship. The new recycling program will not allow hardship policies where residents can opt out of the recycling portion of the bundled service.
What happens to recycled items?
When a recycling bin within the district is emptied into the collection trucks, it is brought to the Davis Material Recovery and Transfer Facility in Layton. The materials are weighed and enter a mechanized sorting system, which reclaims recyclable products. Some are bundled for sale. The plastics and papers that can't be recycled can be made into a kind of fuel. It is hauled to the Devil's Slide Cement Plant to be used as fuel for its kiln.
Food waste and grass clippings can be concentrated and used to make natural gas and compost. The residue is transferred to various disposal locations.
