Recycling losses hit historic high for the county

There’s no getting around it — garbage disposal is heavy and expensive, even if it’s recycled.

The Flathead County Solid Waste District reports that the landfill on U.S. 93 north of Kalispell took in 100,445 tons of waste in fiscal year 2014 — about 5.4 percent more than the previous year.

That includes 8,761 tires, 574 batteries, 8,023 gallons of oil, 710 gallons of antifreeze, 1,976 refrigerators, 4,497 other appliances and 31 vehicles for crushing.

The district paid $13,660 to transfer the tires to a private landfill, but some money came back. The district received $2,840 for the batteries, $7,551 for the oil and $109,289 for the appliances.

It also earned $12 a ton from F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. for the 841 tons of brush that was chipped and hauled off to the lumber mill’s biomass boiler.

Another plus on the books was the 227 million cubic feet of landfill gas burned in a generating facility owned by Flathead Electric Cooperative, providing power for about 1,100 homes.

But the recycling program continues to be costly — the district continues to spend money recycling plastics, cardboard, newspaper, office paper, and tin and aluminum cans.

The county contracts with Valley Recycling to haul and process recyclables dropped off at eight locations in the valley, including Columbia Falls and the landfill.

A total of 875 tons was recycled at a cost of $179,492. But the district earned only $80,341 for the material for a loss of $99,151.

“Increases in hauling and handling costs contributed to the greatest fiscal year loss in the program’s 17-year history,” the district said in its annual report.

Most of the waste stream heading to the landfill is mixed waste and construction debris. Nearly half is taken to the site by commercial haulers, and about a third is hauled by the county from its nine green-box container sites. The amount of garbage hauled from the green-box sites increased by 3 percent to 25,560 tons in fiscal year 2014.

“Abuse of the sites by commercial and out-of-county residents and disposal of hazardous materials continues to be a problem at unstaffed sites,” the district reported. “As the only staffed site, Columbia Falls continues to receive positive public response due to the cleanliness of the site, improved recycling and elimination of salvagers.”

The solid waste district ended the fiscal year with 18 full-time employees. As an enterprise fund, it takes in $80.73 assessed per household and a pay-as-you-go tipping fee at the gate. For commercial haulers, that’s $31.05 per ton. Revenue totaled $10 million in fiscal year 2014, and expenses totaled $8 million.

Overall, the district reports that the cost per ton decreased from the previous fiscal year. Flathead County public works director Dave Prunty said the increase in total waste is an indicator of a growing economy.

A significant cash balance is maintained to pay for future projects, including $8.3 million for closure and post closure and $8.8 million for a liner expansion. The district paid $2 million to acquire eight properties at the southwest corner of the landfill for further expansion.

The 275-acre landfill reportedly has more than 21 million cubic yards of “airspace” available in the north and south areas for future garbage. The district utilized about 165,780 cubic yards in the past fiscal year, which conforms to the district’s 100-year disposal plan for the landfill.

Environmental concerns at the landfill are being addressed, the district said. Two projects addressed surface water infiltrating a nearby perched aquifer. A liner in the north storm pond will be replaced in this fiscal year, and groundwater monitoring has found contamination by chlorinated solvents.

There’s no getting around it — garbage disposal is heavy and expensive, even if it’s recycled.

The Flathead County Solid Waste District reports that the landfill on U.S. 93 north of Kalispell took in 100,445 tons of waste in fiscal year 2014 — about 5.4 percent more than the previous year.

That includes 8,761 tires, 574 batteries, 8,023 gallons of oil, 710 gallons of antifreeze, 1,976 refrigerators, 4,497 other appliances and 31 vehicles for crushing.

The district paid $13,660 to transfer the tires to a private landfill, but some money came back. The district received $2,840 for the batteries, $7,551 for the oil and $109,289 for the appliances.

It also earned $12 a ton from F.H. Stoltze Land & Lumber Co. for the 841 tons of brush that was chipped and hauled off to the lumber mill’s biomass boiler.

Another plus on the books was the 227 million cubic feet of landfill gas burned in a generating facility owned by Flathead Electric Cooperative, providing power for about 1,100 homes.

But the recycling program continues to be costly — the district continues to spend money recycling plastics, cardboard, newspaper, office paper, and tin and aluminum cans.

The county contracts with Valley Recycling to haul and process recyclables dropped off at eight locations in the valley, including Columbia Falls and the landfill.

A total of 875 tons was recycled at a cost of $179,492. But the district earned only $80,341 for the material for a loss of $99,151.

“Increases in hauling and handling costs contributed to the greatest fiscal year loss in the program’s 17-year history,” the district said in its annual report.

Most of the waste stream heading to the landfill is mixed waste and construction debris. Nearly half is taken to the site by commercial haulers, and about a third is hauled by the county from its nine green-box container sites. The amount of garbage hauled from the green-box sites increased by 3 percent to 25,560 tons in fiscal year 2014.

“Abuse of the sites by commercial and out-of-county residents and disposal of hazardous materials continues to be a problem at unstaffed sites,” the district reported. “As the only staffed site, Columbia Falls continues to receive positive public response due to the cleanliness of the site, improved recycling and elimination of salvagers.”

The solid waste district ended the fiscal year with 18 full-time employees. As an enterprise fund, it takes in $80.73 assessed per household and a pay-as-you-go tipping fee at the gate. For commercial haulers, that’s $31.05 per ton. Revenue totaled $10 million in fiscal year 2014, and expenses totaled $8 million.

Overall, the district reports that the cost per ton decreased from the previous fiscal year. Flathead County public works director Dave Prunty said the increase in total waste is an indicator of a growing economy.

A significant cash balance is maintained to pay for future projects, including $8.3 million for closure and post closure and $8.8 million for a liner expansion. The district paid $2 million to acquire eight properties at the southwest corner of the landfill for further expansion.

The 275-acre landfill reportedly has more than 21 million cubic yards of “airspace” available in the north and south areas for future garbage. The district utilized about 165,780 cubic yards in the past fiscal year, which conforms to the district’s 100-year disposal plan for the landfill.

Environmental concerns at the landfill are being addressed, the district said. Two projects addressed surface water infiltrating a nearby perched aquifer. A liner in the north storm pond will be replaced in this fiscal year, and groundwater monitoring has found contamination by chlorinated solvents.