Since the recycling center opened in the 1990s, it’s only had to close for holidays. The center won’t reopen until the Tuesday after Labor Day to give the contractor at the Engine House development the space needed to tie into the sewer system.
“The Engine House property development that is being built right behind us has been moving along, and they're at the point now where they need to connect to the sewer line,” Recycle Utah board member Jim Bedell said.
“Unfortunately for Recycle Utah, that connection needs to go right through our property. We will be completely closed and there will be no access whatsoever to the facility. We’ll be blocked off so that they can carve up the concrete and lay the sewer line,” he added.
Residents can either hold on to their recyclables until it reopens or bring in what they have this week before the center closes.
Bedell says business has picked up ahead of the closure.
“We’re expecting very heavy volume this week, and we'd ask people to be patient if you have to sit in line a little while,” he said.
Meanwhile, Recycle Utah has retained a well-known recycling consulting firm called Resource Recycling Systems to figure out what sort of facilities and collection strategies county residents want in the future.
“The consultants will be here for three or four days,” Bedell said. “We're also going to visit some other sites in the Mountain West, towns and cities, in some cases, that are years ahead of us in this process, and hopefully learn from them. And then sometime late this year, have a definitive plan to present to the community, articulating exactly what we need in order to provide an expanded service to a growing area.”
Bedell said this study will help create a strategic plan that will articulate the center’s needs for the next two decades.
“The approach that we've taken for a long time now has been to simply think about moving what we have into a new facility or a new location,” he said. “The more we've thought about that, and the more we've talked with people about it, and the more the community has grown, I think that strategy is not the right one.”
Although the center may be temporarily closed, Executive Director Carolyn Wawra adds Recycle Utah’s major fundraiser, the 100 Mile Meal, is still happening.
Wawra suggest attendees purchase tickets early.
“There are really only 30 tickets left,” she said. “So, get yours today.”
The 100 Mile Meal takes place Saturday, Aug. 17, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Red Pine Lodge at Park City Mountain.
