Without recycling as the default for Wasatch County households, residents need to figure out their own solutions if they want to divert plastic, glass and more from the landfill.
Some people drive their items north to Park City’s Recycle Utah facility. Others pay monthly fees for private curbside pickup services.
Still, only about 20% of Wasatch County homes regularly recycle.
That’s according to Ryan Smith, the CEO of Recyclops. He founded the company over a decade ago to make recycling accessible to Utahns and residents in nearly a dozen other states.
Smith is now talking with Midway leaders about the city becoming the first place in Wasatch County to offer recycling for every home.
Midway Mayor Celeste Johnson said she’s wanted to pursue curbside recycling for her citizens for years. If city leaders agree it’s a good idea, Midway would try an opt-out program through Recyclops. A vote could happen as soon as August.
“It makes the monthly fee dramatically less than what is currently being offered,” she said. “This is something that many members of our community have been asking for. We will sign up for a one-year trial, and hopefully it will be well received.”
She emphasized recycling is just a proposal at this point – no final decisions have been made.
Johnson said the more residents who participate, the lower the cost. With a citywide program, the monthly fee per household would be around $17, compared to the $29 Wasatch County residents currently pay.
This would be the first opt-out venture for Recyclops; it has partnerships with the Vernal and Nephi city governments, but locals still must register for those programs.
Johnson said she’s always been interested in recycling and made it a priority after Salt Lake City gave its recycling facility a major upgrade.
Smith said he wants to make it convenient for Midway residents to recycle.
“You’ve got to start somewhere, right?” he said. “We feel like Midway is the optimal place to get started and have confidence that it could be quite successful.”
He said he’s excited for the possibility of expanding recycling access in Wasatch County.
“I feel really strongly that we don’t want to force anyone to do anything that they don’t want,” he said. “But what we are interested in is increasing participation, and making sure that people who are interested, but haven’t gotten around to signing up or didn’t know about it – that those people have the convenience of it just being there for them.”
Johnson said councilmembers will determine if Midway is ready for a citywide recycling program when she shares the proposal with the city council in a few weeks.
She said she’s tried to address some of the most common local concerns. Johnson said staff will make it simple for people to call the city to opt out, and recycling will be collected by SUVs with trailers rather than large, noisy trucks.
As Johnson nears the end of her time as mayor, she said she wants to leave a legacy of care for the environment.
“My most passionate thing was just getting an open space bond on the ballot, and to have that happen twice – and pass twice – is something that I am incredibly happy about,” she said. “It really is about protecting our agricultural community and making sure that we have positioned ourselves so that if there ever came a time when we had to support ourselves with our own food, we could do that.”
Midway voters overwhelmingly supported a $5 million open space bond during the November 2024 election, and another $5 million bond six years before that.
Johnson said she would love to see Midway offer yard waste pickup along with convenient recycling.
The Midway City Council will discuss whether to move forward with curbside recycling at its meeting Aug. 19.
