County saves much of recycling program

Recycling services will continue to be offered at seven green-box sites in Flathead County, the Flathead County Solid Waste Board decided on Nov. 26.

The board unanimously approved a one-year contract extension with Valley Recycling to continue handling recycling at green-box sites in Columbia Falls, Coram, Ashley Lake, Bigfork, Somers, Creston and Lakeside, along with the landfill.

The board did not decide about the future of recycling services offered at the Super 1 Foods and Albertsons grocery stores in Kalispell and at the Army-Navy store in Evergreen. The two grocery stores are popular sites for recycling — the Albertsons site alone accounts for 41 percent of all recycling in the county.

But to save money, the county would like residents in the Kalispell and Evergreen area to take their recyclable items to either Valley Recycling, on U.S. 2 west of Kalispell, or to Pacific Recycling, in Evergreen.

The county hopes to pare down the number of recycling sites to save money. The county recycling program has lost more than $400,000 since 1998, and it expects to lose $141,500 in the coming year.

“This will be by far the most expensive year,” Flathead County public works director Dave Prunty said.

The 2009 strategic plan for the Flathead County Solid Waste District is being updated, and the recycling will be addressed in the next few months. Saving the county’s recycling program has garnered much popular support.

Meanwhile, SWT Engineering of Ontario, Calif., will review proposals to consolidate the county’s green box sites to reduce their number and costs. Talk of closing green box sites in Bigfork and Lakeside attracted much negative public attention, and those plans are now on hold.