This commentary is by Sarah Reeves, executive director of the Chittenden Solid Waste District.
It’s easy to drop a piece of cardboard into a blue recycling bin and think nothing more of it, other than remembering to set your bin on the curb for pickup or bringing it to a drop-off center.
The good news is that recycling is second nature to many Vermonters. The bad news is, if you were to pull the curtain back and observe the next steps in that cardboard’s journey, you’d likely be surprised by how old and inefficient the facility is that sorts these materials into streams that can be made into new products.
The Chittenden Solid Waste District built Vermont’s first major recycling center, known as a materials recovery facility, in Williston in 1993. After years of examination, deliberation, and forecasting with staff, the Chittenden Solid Waste District Board of commissioners has recognized that the materials recovery facility is inefficient, outdated and at capacity and is limiting the amount Vermonters can recycle.
Today it is one of only a handful of recycling centers in the U.S. that still relies on people for significant hand-sorting of materials. As a result, the district’s board of commissioners has determined that a new and improved facility is in the public’s interest.
To meet this demand, in June the board authorized placing a question on the November ballot, asking Chittenden County voters to approve authorization for the district to issue general obligation bonds to fund the construction of and equipment for a new materials recovery facility.
If approved, this new facility will utilize tried-and-true technology to enable us to recycle more efficiently while also preserving jobs there in more varied positions.
It will feature more space and improved ventilation and lighting, providing better working conditions for Vermont workers. It will allow us to address our serious capacity issues and be able to accept about 40% more material than the current facility can manage.
The new materials recovery facility will help us recycle more, conserving natural resources and helping reduce Vermont’s carbon footprint. It is being designed with the ability to adapt to future changes in recyclable materials, some of which are still on the drawing board or even ones that we can’t imagine yet. It will be a modern facility to match Vermonters’ love of recycling.
To fund this new materials recovery facility, Chittenden Solid Waste District needs Chittenden County voter approval in this year’s general election to borrow $22 million. The district will pay back the loan from materials recovery facility operational revenue.
Recent changes in Vermont election law made the solid waste district’s bond item ineligible to be included on the general election ballot, and our ballot could not be mailed to voters by the secretary of state nor by the solid waste district.
So, how do you vote? Chittenden County voters can request the solid waste district ballot via the My Voter page (mvp.vermont.gov) or from town clerks, and it will be available at all Chittenden County polling places on Nov. 8.
The Chittenden Solid Waste District’s mission is to reduce and manage the solid waste generated within Chittenden County in an environmentally sound, efficient, effective and economical manner.
Half of Vermont relies on the Chittenden County materials recovery facility to keep valuable recyclables out of the Coventry landfill. While this aging materials recovery facility and the dedicated people who work there do an amazing job despite the facility’s limitations, the solid waste district’s commissioners, representing our 18 member communities, recognize that the time has come for a new, publicly owned, 21st-century materials recovery facility.
