GREEN RIVER — During the Green River City Council meeting Tuesday night, Wyoming Waste Systems gave an update on curbside recycling and the improvements Green River residents have made, and addressed the annual price increase for services.
Wyoming Waste Systems has contracted with a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) that provides analysis on the recycled items being sent out from Green River. The MRF is based in Salt Lake City, and Michelle Foot, Site Manager, said the company is “very pleased with Green River citizens in their efforts to recycle.”
The MRF company picks up recycled waste every other week, in which the average load is about 3,000 pounds, according to Foote. Only about 300 pounds of those recycled materials turns out to be trash.
Foote said the recycled material is taken to the local transfer station where it is sorted before shipping out. She said the majority of recycled material is cardboard and box board, making up about 54 percent of recyclables.
Wyoming Waste Systems hopes that they will be able to continue educating the community on recycling to further better the curbside service.
“Through continued education and marketing, our goal is further lower the waste material and get a higher recycle concentration from the residents,” Foote said.
Price Increase for Waste Services Starts in 2021
When Wyoming Waste Systems took over the garbage collection in Green River in January 2018, the agreement included a possible yearly increase in fees. Foote said the increase is completely based on the consumer price index (CPI) taken on an annual basis.
This year’s CPI is taken from September 2019 to September 2020 for all urban consumers, as prepared by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Foote said the CPI for the parameters listed is at 1.37%. In dollar terms, it is a 45 cents per month increase for residential customers, and a $1.50 per month increase for small businesses.
Wyoming Waste Systems will give notice to all customers that there will be a price increase effective January 1, 2021.
Foote also told the Council that the increase will extend to the Transfer Station. The tonnage rate will increase from $70.24 per ton to $71.20 per ton at the start of the new year.
Transfer Station Use Increases
Transfer Station use also picked up this past year in terms of visits and tonnage being dropped off. The increases were specifically noticed during the first few months of the COVID-19 Coronavirus shutdown, where more people were using their time to clean up.
Each residential address is allowed 1,800 pounds of waste (non-recyclable materials) to be dropped off at the facility. Once that weight is reached, the ton price goes into effect.
Foote ended her presentation by asking residents to download the app found on their website to help stay informed of holiday pickups, route changes, delays, to get education on recycling, and to see the calendar for recycling and green waste pickups.
