Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Oakesdale town council has reversed an effort for an agreement with Empire Disposal to collect cardboard and mixed paper to recycle.
Mayor Dennis Palmer and the council had been talking with Empire Disposal for the past year until the project was shelved due to lack of a place to put the 40-yard capacity dumpsters.
The 20 x 7 x 8 dumpsters need to stay dry so they have to be under a roof or other cover. They also need to be secure so people cannot randomly dump garbage in them.
Because the town lacks funds to build a structure, the project has been put on hold for now.
One potential place to put the bins is a lean-to at the school bus barn. In that area, the school used to have a recycling project, but the effort ran into problems with garbage being left.
“It just got to be a garbage pit over there,” said Mayor Palmer, noting garbage deposits make recycled materials unusable.
“We can’t afford to have those dumpsters hauled off as garbage,” Palmer said.
If the town does find a way to bring in cardboard and mixed-paper recycling, it will need space for two of the large units, one for each type of material. Such bins have wire mesh lids and could go as long as four to five months until full.
“Inside is the way we’d like it,” said Doug DeYoung, Maintenance Manager for Empire Disposal.
As of now, Oakesdale has small bins for newspapers. There are also receptacles to recycle glass, cans, plastic jugs and more.
Mayor Palmer estimates it could cost $20,000 to put up a structure to work for the cardboard and mixed paper dumpsters.
“That’s a pretty hefty outlay just for recycling right now,” said Palmer.
Grants are a possibility. The building used for recycling now was remodeled with grant funds six years ago.
In the meantime, Oakesdale residents can take cardboard and mixed paper to Tekoa or Whitman County Landfill between Colfax and Pullman.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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