More than 93 percent of Centerville’s households participate in the blue can recycling program, Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District officials told Centerville City Council members recently at their Sept. 3 meeting. This is among the highest in the 15 Davis and Morgan County communities that are members of the waste management special service district. (Bountiful is not part of the district).

In Centerville about 30 percent of households participate in the green can green waste program. District officials would like to see those numbers increase and are embarking on an education program this fall. Centerville residents can expect to see more information in their mail about what can and can’t be recycled and the best way to participate in those programs, WIWMSSSD Executive Director Nathan Rich told the city council that night.

The district handles about 40,000 tons per year of solid waste which equates to about a ton of solid waster per person per year generated in the district, Rich said. Over the past three years the district has seen an almost 20 percent increase in the amount of waste coming into its system.

“We attributed part of that to COVID,” Rich said. “We thought that that would be a bump, but numbers are still pretty strong.”

Over the past several years the district has implemented several programs to try and extend the life of the landfill which is currently expected to reach capacity in 18 years, Rich said. Among those is the practice of transferring about a third of the waste that comes into the landfill to the Waste Management-owned Tekoi Landfill on the Skull Valley Reservation. The district also owns a quarter of the Bay Hill Landfill in Utah County, but it is costly to send its waste there because it is 125 miles away, Rich said.

“We know that there are better things we can do with our waste,” he said.

District programs include green waste recycling and composting which processes about 25,000 tons of waste each year.

“It’s a good example of upcycling,” Rich said. “We take something of no value and turn it into value.”

The district also provides citizen drop off and recycling services along with free household hazardous waste and electronic waste drop off at the landfill and sees about 2,000 transactions a day on a busy Saturday, he said.

It also operates a thrift store where usable material is pulled out of the waste that’s delivered. Although it’s a small program, “it’s an excellent educational opportunity to help people understand how much of a throwaway society we are,” Rich said.

In addition the district processes methane from the decaying landfill waste to generate about 2.5 megawatts of electricity utilizing Hill Air Force Base generators.

The four-year-old materials recovery facility was originally designed to process raw municipal solid waste and pull recyclables from it to produce an engineered fuel feed but was reengineered after partnerships to accept that product fell through. It now processes blue can recyclables and acts as a transfer station for material that will go to the Skull Valley landfill, Rich said. As the landfill reaches the end of its life, the district will need to add a second transfer station, he said.

District officials are hopeful that over time they can educate member cities and their residents about the benefits of bundled services, which would offer basic garbage disposal along with the blue and green can recycling programs to all residents. In the past there has been some resistance from some communities in making this a mandatory program, Rich said. 

If member communities became more amenable to bundled services it could lead to more robust curbside recycling and could extend the life of the landfill by diverting even more waste, Rich said. In the meantime, the district has implemented a recycling incentive, a reduction on the cost of the standard garbage cans based on the amount of waste the cities are able to divert through the use of the recycling cans. Participating cities including Centerville should shortly see the price drop, Rich said.

Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District will hold a public open house on Nov. 15, from noon to 4 p.m. at its materials recovery facility which is located west of the Davis County Landfill at 3404 North 650 East in Layton. Those who are interested in seeing what happens to their garbage will be able to tour the facility and enjoy some complimentary food. Tours can be organized at other times for those who are interested, Rich told the Centerville/Farmington Journal.