Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

Trash is the talk of the town. Whether it’s rural people talking about the tipping fees recently started at the Washakie County Solid Waste Disposal District landfill just outside of Worland, the Worland City Council discussing the impact of the new tipping fees for the residents of the community or Worland residents concerned about how much their garbage rate from the city will increase.

Some questions raised at the recent Worland City Council work session are questions or issues I heard in Big Horn County while working as the editor of the Basin Republican Rustler.

The city wants representation on the board. The board is appointed by the county commissioners there as it is here. The district is a tax supported entity here. It is not in Big Horn County. Voters approved the district but not levying three mills.

In Big Horn County, the landfills charge by the pound, and lately fees have increased nearly every year. Current rate is 4.75 cents per pound. The Big Horn County Solid Waste District Board conducts a budget hearing, sets rates and sends their budget on to the Wyoming Department of Audit, operating pretty much as an autonomous board, similar to WCSWDD.

No public hearings are held when they raise rates. All their meetings, just as the meetings for the WCSWDD, are public meetings and everyone is welcome. The board meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at the landfill.

During one of the recent increases in Big Horn County, mayors of several of the incorporated communities were concerned about the cost they would have to pass on to residents. They too went before the district board and the commissioners seeking representation on the board.

The commissioners and the board told them they were invited to come to any meeting. The town of Basin then appointed a council member as a liaison to the landfill board.

The commissioners also said anyone is welcome to submit a letter of interest whenever there is an opening on the board, thus the board didn’t need to be expanded in order for the towns to be informed or have representation.

There are concerns that because taxpayers are already paying for the landfill through the three mills levied, that there shouldn’t be a fee. I remember a conversation with the Big Horn County landfill manager, who said even if voters had approved a tax levy they would still have to charge a fee due to the cost of doing business. Regulations have increased, and as our board here has attested, one of the biggest expenses is lining the landfill.

The cost of doing business is becoming so expensive many landfills, such as South Big Horn County’s and Ten Sleep’s, are moving to transfer stations, to avoid the lining regulations and other regulations.

It is frustrating when increases seem to come out of nowhere, and yes, whenever, a public entity, raises fees, they need to be able to justify those increases, whether it is water, garbage, electricity, natural gas or sewer.

But residents here need to know they are not alone. This trash plight has been fought be many, and will be fought by many more I’m sure in the future.

There are options to reducing costs to the landfill, and the council brought up one that I hope they explore further in increasing recycling efforts. There are many recycling opportunities around the community, but one thing I know of people, you have to make it convenient for them to recycle. Curbside recycling is great, but there are costs in setting that up. Your devout recyclers will go anywhere to recycle, but your recyclers who may be on the fence, likely won’t go out of their way to recycle, and don’t want to hunt for recycling locations.

As trash costs increase, agencies have to get creative in ways to reduce the amount of waste.

Basin started a compost pile to eliminate some of their waste going to the landfill. They put out “green waste” trash bins in nearly every neighborhood for yard waste that is hauled to the compost pile, and they allow residents to haul to the compost pile as well.

While the Worland City Council looks for options for waste reduction and ways to avoid huge rate increases to residents, it sounds like they’ll be seeking a full accounting of the WCSWDD budget and need for a tipping, I encourage them to participate in future meetings of the WCSWDD Board and work with the board on options for reducing waste and making trash collection for the city and trash dumping at the landfill more efficient.