Borough Eyes Plan for Recycling at Transfer Stations

Dealing with trash is a growing issue in the Mat-Su Borough.  The borough’s solid waste division is millions in the red, and user fees are not making up the difference.  Now, the Mat-Su may be laying the groundwork for a community-driven recycling program to take pressure off of the landfill.

At Monday night’s meeting of the Talkeetna Community Council, the most discussed topic was the outline of a plan to incorporate recycling with refuse transfer stations in the Mat-Su Borough.  Butch Shapiro is the borough’s solid waste manager.  He started Monday’s presentation by explaining how landfills are divided into units called ‘cells:’

“A landfill cell is like a big swimming pool.  You have to build this structure to put this stuff in because you don’t want this stuff leaking out into the water system, and those things are expensive.”

The expense comes from measures that are required to prevent toxins from leaking out of the trash and into soil and groundwater.  Those cells eventually fill up.  Butch Shapiro says that each one is estimated to last for 5-7 years.  After that, a new cell is needed.  Shapiro says that adds up quickly.

“The last one we built was about $4,350,000.  That’s just to open a cell…We have about another $4 million to close a cell to EPA standards.”

Those costs, along with the fact that none of the borough’s transfer stations break even on expenses, has left the borough’s waste management system more than $4 million in the red.   So, how does recycling help?  Items that are recycled never make it to the landfill cells, meaning new ones are needed less frequently.

The plan is for the borough to donate old trash containers, which would need to be refurbished.  Shapiro says that means effort from the community.

“The other piece to that is:  how are we going to find the money to refurbish these containers?  Because I don’t have the money to do that, I’m just giving you the container.”

Butch Shapiro estimates it will cost between $7,000 and $10,000 to refurbish a container, and that at least one community has successfully applied for a grant from the Rasmusen Foundation to cover the expense.

Once a container is ready, the community decides which three types of recyclables to take.  If and when the program becomes active, the borough would handle all transportation of the recyclables.    Users of the transfer station would not be charged for the recyclables they bring.

Butch Shapiro acknowledges that this program would be a small step.  Some community members present at Monday’s meeting took to the idea quickly.  Trisha Costello says that the community has been asking for a recycling program for more than five years.

“We already wanted this, and we already supported it.  I would like to say right now, if there’s going to be a first transfer site to receive these containers, then I want Talkeetna to be it.”

Others offered suggestions and ideas.  Roger Robinson described how recycling works on the Big Island of Hawaii.

“You just put all the recycling into one–you don’t try to sort it out, because it’s too much.  And, they hire people…to do the sorting.  So, everything that gets hauled to different places gets sorted individually…It does keep some people employed.  They have a huge amount of recycling taking place.”

The nuts and bolts of how the program would work are still a long way off.  The Talkeetna Community Council board of directors voted to form a committee to look into implementing the plan.  Vice-chair Mary Farina says that Talkeetna residents are who are interested in being on the committee can contact the Council at TCCSecretary@yahoo.com.