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After Basalt Recycling Center Shuts Down, Town And Eagle County Launch New Drop-Off Events

Creativity103 via Creative Commons

A recycling dropoff center in Basalt shut down on Friday after Pitkin County pulled funding, and Basalt and Eagle County couldn’t pay new higher rates to keep it open. Now, the town and Eagle County will host a pair of events where people can bring hard-to-dispose of items, such as large electronics, paint, motor oil, tires and yard waste. 

 

Basalt was ready to put up $60,000 dollars to keep the center open, but had to back out when the company running it, Waste Management, asked for double

Jeff Shroll is the Eagle County manager and says the events won’t replace the dropoff center but still address a need.

“I don’t know if it’s an apples-to-apples comparison,” Shroll said. “It’s an alternative.”

Shroll added that Basalt and Eagle County are planning to split the costs of the events. The first dropoff day could cost as much as $26,000, but succeeding events will likely cost less. 

“We’re constantly going to be partnering with Basalt looking for solutions,” Shroll said. “I think in the interim period for 2020, this hard-to-recycle event that we’ll be doing a couple times this year is something we’ll kick off a new chapter with.”

No date has been announced for the dropoff events yet; Shroll says they’re tentatively scheduled for April and October of this year. 

 

Alex is KUNC's reporter covering the Colorado River Basin. He spent two years at Aspen Public Radio, mainly reporting on the resort economy, the environment and the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, he covered the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery for KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska.