Solid waste meeting set for April 30

A workshop meeting set for April 30 will give the Green River City Council a chance to discuss a discount for residents aged 62 and older and the future of Wyoming Waste Systems recycling program.

The workshop takes place at the Council chambers in City Hall at 6:30 p.m.

Councilman Jim Zimmerman encouraged residents to attend the meeting, believing more solutions to the problems facing the city’s recycling program might become available through added discussion.

“I’m really hoping more people come out ... and we get some good ideas,” Zimmerman said.

With the news breaking that WWS has landfilled recyclables collected in Green River since late September 2018, Zimmerman said he’s received come comments and concerns about the recycling program. One of the more common complaints he said was the lack of communication involved in suddenly taking recyclables to the landfill.

Michelle Foote, site manager at the Rock Springs WWS location, previously told the Star the issue started with the fire at the Green River Transfer Station and its subsequent closure, which resulted in WWS losing space to sort recycling after the Berto Castillon Recycling Center closed.

According to Foote, landfilling the recyclables was seen as a temporary solution that was only supposed to happen for a few months until the transfer station reopened, but has lasted longer than anticipated.

Zimmerman said residents he’s spoke with were upset they weren’t notified of the issue and felt the work preparing recyclables for pickup was a waste of effort. He also believes more education needs to be made available to cut down the contamination of recycling picked up, another issue that has lead to loads being sent to the landfill.

“Let us know,” Zimmerman said people told him. “Put something in the paper.”

The other issue the Council will discuss with WWS is a proposed discount for the city’s older residents. Zimmerman said two options presented to them involve giving residents a small trash bin for a smaller fee or allowing residents the same sized bin they have, but provide a discount.