Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Lincoln County Transfer Station operator Todd Goodall sorts through recyclable materials Jan. 5. The transfer station can take all kinds of recycling, but where they end up depends on the material.
DAVENPORT-The explanation of where solid waste goes after being dropped off at the Lincoln County Transfer station is fairly straightforward: It is loaded onto a train, transported to Spokane and then redirected to Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Klickitat County.
However, where does the recycled material go?
The answer depends on what type of material is in play.
Scrap metal "usually" goes to Schnitzer Steel Industries, which has locations the transfer station gives the metal to in Burbank and Tacoma.
"We also gave a load recently to Metro Metals in Portland," transfer station solid waste supervisor Rory Wintersteen said.
Other metals, like tin, aluminum and copper, usually are taken to Spokane. Cardboard, meanwhile, generally goes to Georgia-Pacific in Toledo, Oregon and Caraustar Industrial in Tacoma, while one load recently went to Wenatchee.
There's also prospects of being able to take cardboard to a new plant near Walla Walla.
"It'd be nice to not have to bring (cardboard) over any mountain passes," Wintersteen said. "You'd just take it down the 395."
E-waste, which the transfer station accepts for free, typically goes to Universal Recycling Technologies in Clackamas, Oregon. Organic materials tend to end up at Barr-Tech Composting in the Sprague/Fishtrap area.
Newsprint goes to Inland Empire Paper Company in Millwood.
Hazardous waste, such as paint, often ends up being incinerated all the way down in Utah. However, a new paint product stewardship program beginning April 1 will cut back on some of that.
Wintersteen is also hoping for funding from the Department of Ecology to hold another tire donation program. Such an event was recently held in November and brought in 3,500 tires.
Right now, the transfer station is making $65 a ton for scrap metal and cardboard, and $45 a ton for newsprint.
Rates increasing due to cost of living increase
Most recycled materials, save for larger metals like refrigerators and dishwashers, can be dropped at the transfer station for free. However, there is a cost for solid waste, tires, yard waste and construction and demolition debris. That cost will increase 4% effective March 1 to cover cost of living increase charges.
As previously reported in the Dec. 3 issue of The Times, pandemic-related shutdowns have made the transfer station busier. Wintersteen said there were 4,650 customers during the first round of shutdowns between April and June, and 4,251 customers between July and September.
"We usually slow way down after the Super Bowl, but with COVID I don't see that happening this year," Wintersteen said.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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