County recycling program seeing gains

By DAVE RICHARDSON Chronicle Staff Writer

Business is booming for Gallatin County’s new recycling program, as new drop-off locations continue to be added across the county.

County commissioners approved a plan in March for the county’s Solid Waste Management District to spend about $450,000 to buy 14 drop-box-type containers to collect recyclables from locations around the county.

Since then, the volume of recycled materials processed by the program has increased significantly, Wayne Shelton, the program’s manager, said.

“As of the end of June we’ve collected about 183 tons of material,” Shelton said.

That figure represents a 10 percent increase over last year’s totals, he added.

Containers were set up in River Rock’s Village Center and the Gallatin Gateway Community Center when the program started. Three more drop-off sites have been added, Shelton said, at Montana State University on Harrison Street; at Home Depot on North 19th Avenue; and in Belgrade on Madison Avenue about a quarter-mile west of Jackrabbit Lane on property owned by Kamp Implement Co., a tractor-supply business.

Shelton said he hopes to secure another drop-off site along West Main Street soon.

County Commissioner Steve White said finding new drop-off sites hasn’t been easy.

“That’s been the hardest part, but we’re slowly and surely finding more locations,” White said.

Separate containers for flattened cardboard boxes are now available in addition to the large, roll-off containers for plastic bottles, aluminum cans, newspapers, magazines and office paper, Shelton said.

However, office paper can now be bundled with newspapers and magazines, making the process easier for participants, Shelton said. He also advised people to crush plastic bottles and cans before depositing them in containers.

“That way they save space in our containers and their containers, and they won’t have to come out so often, which will help them, considering the cost of fuel,” Shelton said.

The program still does not accept glass bottles, a loophole that continues to irk some would-be recyclers.

Still, Shelton said, the addition of new drop-off locations will continue to make life easier for recyclers and continue to boost the program.

“So far, everything is going great,” Shelton said.

White agreed.

“The program demonstrates there’s a bonanza out there,” White said. “The Solid Waste Management Board has done a good job getting this program off the ground, and it was not an easy job.”

Dave Richardson can be reached at drichardson@dailychronicle.com or 582-2648.

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