UTAH COUNTY — The recent announcement from China saying they will no longer be importing recyclables has brought a spotlight on recycling and waste centers nationally.
Recycling companies like Rocky Mountain in Salt Lake and South Utah Valley Solid Waste District, a transfer station in Springville, are receiving a lot of the effects of this announcement. Last week, Salt Lake County announced changes to their recycling as a county. They will only be accepting plastic bottles with a collar like milk, juice, beverage, etc., containers, cardboard boxes and metal food or beverage cans. This is in an effort to lower the cost of transporting recyclables to and from locations locally and nationally.
This week, South Utah Valley Solid Waste District is meeting to discuss what they can do to lower their cost of transportation of recyclables to Rocky Mountain and other recycling issues. Ultimately, perhaps, adopting the same change that Salt Lake County has seen. SUVSWD is a transfer station composed of seven neighboring cities and towns all south of Provo, Provo, Spanish Fork, Salem, Mapleton, Springville, Goshen and Woodland Hills. General Manager Terry Ficklin said he anticipates the beginning of what he hopes to be “many great changes” in the future. The start — cutting the cost of recycling transportation.
It is an exciting and interesting time for recycling companies around the nation. Ficklin ended by stating, “We need more ingenuity in brainstorming how we can better use local recyclables to create solutions to everyday needs rather than importing other non-recycled materials.”
Stay tuned Utah County — similar recycling changes might be coming this year!
