Solid Waste Facility reopens to self-haul waste

COLFAX – As of Monday, May 4, the Whitman County Solid Waste Facility is accepting "self-haul" waste from residents who use credit/debit cards for payment.

"The previous exchange of either cash or checks was too risky for solid waste facility staff just due to the amount of people they come in contact with during a single given day," said Whitman County Public Works Director Mark Storey.

According to a press release from the Public Works Department, anyone who is self-hauling and wishes to pay with cash or check will be rejected.

Commercial operations, such as Pullman Disposal and Waste Connections (Empire) will continue as they are on an established "commercial" account and do not require interaction with facility staff. This goes for other businesses who have established commercial accounts.

Those wishing to dump green waste and household hazardous waste may continue to do so, since this dumping is free of charge and requires no interaction with facility staff.

For those self-hauling, there will be a 2.5 percent convenience fee added to the charge. For example, if the minimum fee of the drop-off is $15, there will be a minimum additional charge of $2, making the total $17. If the total cost is more than $80 then the 2.5 percent charge will go into effect, meaning it'll be more than just an additional $2 charge.