HELP's new structure

The new structure suggested looks to lighten the meeting load for committee members as the work load within the departments increases.  Both the intensity of the grant writing that is required at this time and the process of each department developing their 15% carbon reduction plans and data collection systems will require more time than member's work in the past.  For these reasons, meetings will take place once a month to share department information and to provide an information assist for departments as they work towards their reduction goals.  The next meeting is set for Oct. 13, 11-12am

Have any leftover pesticides or herbicides that you'd like to get rid of safely?  Well, you can on September 16, 2009 in Burley and on September 17, 2009 in Twin Falls.

Here's a description of the program from the state's website at http://www.agri.state.id.us/Categories/Pesticides/pdp/indexdisposalmain.php:

Recycling is huge. It involves more people and industries on a daily basis than any other environmental effort.

In Blaine County we have one of the most progressive recycling programs in the state. Generally materials are collected either at the curb (curbside) or at drop off centers like Ohio Gulch's Resource Recovery Center.

On average our community throws away nearly 35,000 tons of trash each year. Of this about 16% or 6,600 tons is actually recycled and 18% or 7,600 tons is diverted from the Milner Butte landfill. Nationally our recycling rate is at about 32% so our community still has a ways to go.

Ten Years of Waste and Recycling

All of our trash is trucked from transfer stations like the one at Ohio Gulch to the Milner Butte Landfill some 90 miles south of Hailey.  There are 9-12 semi-trucks that make the trip each day except Sunday out of Ohio Gulch through Hailey and Bellevue to the Milner Butte Landfill.

Here in Blaine County when you're recycling materials, chances are someone's either coming to you and picking up your recyclables or you're going and dropping off your recyclables somewhere. This is basically the difference between curbside and drop off services -- one comes to you and the other you have to go to. Fortunately we have both in Blaine County. Please realize that we are lumping everything under "recycling" here, but in some cases an item isn't being recycled, but instead reused. Which is even better! A good example of this is glass, which can be collected and dropped off at locations (see below), from there it is taken to Ohio Gulch, crushed, and used as clean fill in the construction waste landfill.

Curbside

If you're a resident of Sun Valley, Ketchum or Hailey, your recycling services are included in your cities' solid waste fees. Curbside service is provided by a franchise agreement between the cities and Clear Creek Disposal and runs on a set schedule.  Recycling for businesses is an included charge only in Hailey.  Businesses, including homeowner associations, in Sun Valley, Ketchum, Bellevue and Blaine County must contract separately for this paid service.

Those in Bellevue, Carey and the unincorporated areas of Blaine County must contract separately with their waste hauler for recycling services. Such arrangements could change if these local governments move to franchise these solid waste services.

The curbside program is source-separated meaning that you need to separate all your recyclables in specific bins and set these out at the curb for pickup. Recyclables collected at the curb include:

Paper (newspapers, magazines, office paper, junk mail, cereal boxes, paper egg cartons, etc) Plastic products (HDPE and PPE plastics #1-5 only. Lids are OK, but take them off).  Cans (aluminum & tin, plus reasonably clean aluminum foil) Drop Offs

There are numerous drop off centers around Blaine County but they do not all accept the same materials.

Location CorrugatedCardboard Glass  Paper Cans

Plastic #1-5

Phonebooks Sun Valley City Hall 11/16/2012 - 12/17/2012 Elkhorn Fire Station 11/16/2012 - 12/17/2012 Ketchum4th Street Drop Off 11/16/2012 - 12/17/2012 Environmental Resource Center

Hailey City Hall Hailey Park-n-Ride 11/16/2012 - 12/17/2012 Hailey Fire Station Recycling Center (Ohio Gulch) Carey West Magic

 

Household Hazardous Wastes & Select Items

Household hazardous wastes (HHW) are particularly dangerous and represent unique challenges.  The table below summarizes where you may take HHW and select items such as "white goods" which include refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers and water heaters.  For more detailed information, please visit the dedicated household hazardous waste section.

Location  Household Batteries CFL Bulbs Used Oil Pesticides/ Harsh Cleaners Paint Antifreeze Cellphones

Computers

White Goods Tires Christmas trees Environmental Resource Center Pentium 4s & above/ call 726.4333 Recycling Center (Ohio Gulch) Hailey City Hall Bellevue City Hall Building Material Thrift Store Carey West Magic

YMCA parking lot

Seasonally Mountain Rides Les Schwab

Here in Blaine County we can recycle or divert  a wide array of materials, including

cardboard newspaper magazines mixed paper (junk mail, cereal boxes, office paper, etc) aluminum & tin cans plastic products (#1 - #5) glass computer & electronic wastes household hazardous wastes compact fluorescent bulbs wood wastes plastic bags

Depending on the item you may have several different options, at your convenience, to recycle that item. Residents of Sun Valley, Ketchum and Hailey all enjoy curbside recycling service as part of your solid waste services. Residents in Bellevue, Carey and Blaine County must contract separately for both their recycling and trash services.

Yes Indicates all the items you can include with the recyclable material No

Identifies common contaminates and either offers other options or indicates that the material can only be thrown in the trash.

Curbside

 

 

Our curbside program is a "source-separated" one where  materials aregrouped into several containers so that they can be more easily hauled, baled and transported to an business that uses these recyclables as industrial feedstock.

Curbside Containers

There are many different types of containers that you can use for curbside service.  There's the traditional big blue bin that you can get free from your waste hauler but there are also other bin types that can help you keep your recyclables sorted and easy to get to the curb.  These options generally range from $10-$20 per bin and here are some examples (click the picture for the full link):

 

Drop Offs

There are several drop offs in Blaine County but not all materials are accepted at all the different drop offs. These drop offs include:

Sun Valley Ketchum Resource Recovery Center (Ohio Gulch) Hailey Carey West Magic Did you know... Locally we recycle over 263 tons of newspapers each year, saving over 1.6 million pounds of carbon pollution, over 3,100 trees and over 1.1 million kilowatt hours of electricity. On average, recycling your newspapers generates nearly $18,000 in revenues each year. Your recycling participation contributes to our average 16% recycling rate and helps boost our total recycling revenues to over $126,440 on average.