Recycling’s new era

Sandra Hansen
Posted 1/31/18

City reopens recycling center

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Recycling’s new era

Posted

TORRINGTON – Recycling efforts by the city of Torrington are entering a new era with an updated visible presence that includes two new trailers for recycling deposits.

According to Ed Hawley, the City’s recycling department superintendent, “The recycling center is an asset to the community. It keeps material out of the landfill, and helps keep the city streets clean.”

The recycling headquarters is at 310 Curtis Ave., about two blocks west of South Main, and south of the railroad tracks. It was part of Diversified Services Incorporated for many years before the City of Torrington acquired it in January 2017.

Hawley said the business does not pay for itself, but its benefits are worth the effort because it also provides employment for four DSI clients.

Amanda Werner, employment director at DSI, appreciates Hawley’s support for DSI assistance. 

“It’s great for our clients,” Werner said during a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon. “It keeps our guys busy, and gives them something to look forward to. We certainly would like to see it continue in the future.” 

“We do pretty well, but we’d like to get more publicity,” Hawley said during a recent interview and tour of the facility. “We have bins for plastics, aluminum and steel cans, newspapers and office paper, and cardboard that can be accessed after we close.”

In addition to the bins on the Curtis Avenue property, four recycling trailers are located around town. A new bright blue and white bin is at Jirdon Park and another will replace one of the familiar black and white bins at either Family Dollar, on the corner near the Torrington Police Department, or in the vicinity of the hospital and Eastern Wyoming College. 

According to Hawley, the two new bins were financed with assistance from Goshen County Economic Development Corporation.

Perry Baird, supervisor at the recycling center, said they take number 1 and 2 plastics, aluminum cans, steel cans, office paper and newspapers. They also take shredded paper that is bagged and dropped at the recycle center during office hours, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Four dumpsters for trash and two fenced areas for cardboard, one for large pieces and one for small, are at the recycling location.

The center does not take heavy plastics or colored plastics, other than colored Number 2, the lighter weight jugs.

“We’d like to get more recycling business,” Hawley said. “A lot of town folks are in and out, so we have a pretty steady flow, and with the outside bins, there is access at night for the public to drop off their recycling items.”

“We’d want the public to understand that it’s not a drop off place for trash,” Baird said. “The DSI people sort these recycling materials by hand, and we’d like it as clean as possible.”

Both men emphatically requested that dirty diapers be kept out of recycling containers. They also remind the public that grass clippings need to be delivered to the city’s baler facility north of the North Platte River, east of Highway 85.

Several area businesses, such as Eastern Wyoming College and the country club, participate, and the operation does pick up some materials for a fee. 

The recycling trailers are emptied once a week, between Tuesday and Friday. The sorted materials are delivered to Cheyenne when a load is ready. According to the latest figures, the project received $100/ton for cardboard, 40 cents a pound for aluminum cans, $10/ton for clear plastics, and $80/ton for colored Number 2 plastic.

“We’d like to get more people involved in recycling,” Hawley said. “We’d like to double it, and we can handle it with the workforce we have.

“We could get the recycling to break even with more public involvement,” Hawley explained. “Without the DSI help, it wouldn’t be feasible. Right now, it is subsidized by the sanitation department.”

For more information on the recycling program, contact Hawley at (307) 532- 4689, or the recycling center at (307) 532-8525.