Meeting Minutes: July 18, 2016

Meeting Minutes: June 20, 2016

Meeting Minutes: May 16, 2016

The Fremont County Solid Waste Disposal District (District) is offering assistance to the flood impacted residents of Fremont County through a fee waiver for flood impacted materials removed from homes within Fremont County extending through June 15, 2016.

In order to receive this fee waiver, you must meet the following criteria:

• You must be a self-hauler (i.e. this does not apply to any contractor, person working for hire, or commercial hauler).
• The materials must be delivered to the Lander Landfill (this opportunity does not exist at any other District facility).
• Delivery must take place during normal business hours (i.e. Tuesday through Saturday, from 8:00am until 5:00pm).
• All loads must be secured to the transport vehicle with ropes and/or tarps in a manner that does not allow any loss during transport.
• The fee waiver does not apply to standard waste (i.e. household trash, yard waste, etc.), only materials damaged due to the recent flooding.

Please contact us at your convenience with any questions at (307) 332-7040.

The Fremont County Solid Waste Disposal District will discontinue glass recycling effective July 1, 2016. The board of directors made this decision to control the increasing recycling program costs. It was acknowledged at the May 2016 board meeting the glass materials collected in the recycling program are crushed for landfill roads and mainly end up in the landfill.

Glass recycling began in Fremont County several years ago when Fremont County Road and Bridge had planned to use the glass materials in road projects. The process never came to fruition, though accepting glass in the recycling program remained. Discontinuing glass recycling at this time provides the opportunity for other portions of the recycling program to proceed.

Meeting Minutes: April 18, 2016

Over 130 people attended the community forums to discuss the recycling program in Lander and Riverton this past month. The community stakeholders are now meeting to review the thoughts and ideas presented by community members, and compile a recommendation for the Fremont Count Solid Waste Disposal District Board. The District Board is planning an initial review of the community forum summary at their next meeting, May 16, 2016 at 9:30am at the Lander Landfill.

Forum discussion showed recycling volume needs to be higher for financial efficiency. Currently, 14 percent of the District budget is spent on five percent of its waste stream that constitutes recycling. To increase volume, county residents need to be informed of recycling’s importance and how to recycle.

Various ways of covering the cost of trash and recycling are being considered, including improving the efficiency of processing, and mandatory city fees. It was related at the forums that the cities of Laramie, Cheyenne and Gillette all charge for recycling. A contrary opinion is for non-recycling residents to be charged more for trash disposal as they are not diverting waste from the landfill.

Other ideas are to create a new tax district and help develop local markets for recyclable items. Recycled plastics are shipped to Asia to be re-manufactured into products, and the higher numbered classes of plastic have the least financial return. Looking at these economic factors, the stakeholders are considering only offering recycling for #1 and #2 plastics which are most valuable on the market.

The forum participants encouraged businesses, organizations and government entities to consider the moral responsibilities of recycling for the health of future generations. It was suggested recycling businesses be given tax reductions for providing services.

Several community members pointed out that it’s not waste until we make it waste, and the underlying issue is society’s rate of consumption. Teaching the value of buying second-hand and repairing items to younger generations is important to reducing waste.

Meeting Minutes: March 21, 2016

The Fremont County Solid Waste Disposal District is reviewing its recycling program due to increased operation costs. Community members are invited to attend forums to share ideas and considerations for the recycling program in Fremont County.

Community Recycling Forums:

April 7 in Lander at the United Methodist Church, 262 N. 3^rd St.

April 18 in Riverton at the Riverton City Hall Council Chambers, 816 N. Federal Blvd.

Forum participants may register for speaking slots starting at 6:30 pm. The forum meetings will be held 7-9 pm.

More information is available at: www.facebook.com/fremontcountyrecycling.

February 17, 2016 Meeting Minutes