Residents and visitors to Pitkin County produce a lot of trash — about twice the national average. On Tuesday, county commissioners will consider a plan to keep some reusable items out of the landfill.
The Pitkin County Landfill is filling up — mostly with building materials — but also with things like furniture, appliances or sporting goods. But county staff believes there’s a market for some of these reusable items and will ask county commissioners to move forward with a plan for a 12,000-square-foot warehouse “Drop and Swap” facility.
The concept is modeled after similar programs in Monterey, CA, and Boulder, CO, with the goal of keeping reusable items out of the landfill. The initial design comes with a nearly $6 million price tag, which is over a million dollars above the approved budget. Staff said they are working with contractors to reduce that price.
