The Mat-Su Borough is working to update the Talkeetna Transfer Station with a new entrance and to build a compost bay. Borough Solid Waste Division Manager Jeff Smith says a Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant is funding a new entrance and the compost program. Most of the 3.5 million grant is for building out the compost facility at the landfill in Palmer and the Big Lake transfer site, with the remainder for the Willow and Talkeetna sites.
A new shared entrance for the transfer station and the Talkeetna Lakes Trails access will be built on Comsat Road. The current entrances for the transfer station on the Spur Road and the Talkeetna Lakes Trails on Comsat will be closed. The updates will include a new one-way routing in a loop with the shared entry and exit.
Smith says the one-way traffic will help make the site safer and more efficient. This new flow also will allow space for woody debris, recycling, hazardous waste, metals, and trash.
The woody debris will be hauled to Palmer for composting. The Borough will haul finished compost back to Talkeetna for residents to use, though Smith says that distribution has not been worked out yet.
The new entrance and routing will be finished sometime in late September. Smith says the transfer station will remain open on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays throughout the summer.
