Republic Services says it needs 3,500 residents to sign up to start the program. It only has about 210 so far, according to Summit County Landfill Superintendent Tim Loveday.
“We're very disappointed, you know. It's important to the county, and I think to the residents of the county, ultimately, to divert this yard waste from the landfill,” Loveday said.
The deadline to sign up is Jan. 1. Residents who opt in get a separate bin for yard waste, which Republic Services would transport to Spoil to Soil’s composting facility in Browns Canyon.
The push to compost comes as Summit County’s main repository for residential waste, Three Mile Landfill, is filling up. Park City has estimated up to 80% of its waste could be diverted to recycling or composting facilities.
As Three Mile approaches capacity, the county is planning to build a second cell for around $2.5 million, a large line item in the tentative FY2024 budget; one of a number that has the Summit County Council debating a tax increase.
Looking for ways to make the most of the landfill’s capacity, Summit County conducted a 2019 study that showed yard waste accounted for 11% of Three Mile’s contents.
Yard waste seemed like one of the simplest things to divert. However, the program requires residents to opt in, and only western Summit County residents are eligible.
“3,500 people in the area that we've chosen is very difficult to get because a lot of those folks are utilizing landscaping companies, who are already taking it to the landfill,” Loveday explained.
The annual fee of $125, with an additional $85 start-up and waste cart delivery fee, is a hard sell to residents who already pay for landscaping services.
However, Republic Services needs the money to pay for trucks, bins and other upfront costs. It would also pay Spoil to Soil’s tipping fee, which the facility charges Republic for dropping off the compost.
So Loveday says the landfill is also looking at the companies who bring in the yard waste, not just the residents.
Staff will propose the county council raise the Three Mile and Henefer landfills' own tipping fees by a couple dollars per ton.
He doesn’t think that would change companies’ behavior, but it would offset inflation’s impact on landfill operations.
So unless more than 3,000 westside residents opt in to yard waste composting, the county is back at square one when it comes to diverting yard waste.
To residents who are on the fence, Loveday emphasizes that they don’t need to pay immediately. They would only pay in spring 2024 if the service begins.
Click here to learn more about the yard waste pickup program.
Click here to sign up.
