Business steady at the Garfield County Landfill
County’s e-waste recycling program earned $30,474 in 2021
PRESS RELEASE
March 25, 2022
The Garfield County Landfill has seen steady business over the past couple years, despite the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The landfill saw 39,065 tons of waste deposited by 26,910 customers in 2021 compared to 36,630 tons dropped off by 26,622 customers in 2020.
The county’s popular e-waste recycling program earned $30,474 last year, and the septic treatment program brought in 1,704,063 gallons of waste, equating to $362,669 in collected revenues.
“We are the least-expensive option around to dispose of e-waste at this time,” said Garfield County Landfill Manager Deb Fiscus. “We’ve just started partnering with Blue Star Recyclers this year, and they’ve been great to work with.”
A 501c3 nonprofit that operates out of Basalt, Blue Star employs people with autism and other disabilities, creating job opportunities for locals, according to its website.
“I’m glad we’re working with Blue Star,” added Commissioner Tom Jankovsky. “They have a mission that supports the local economy.”
The county has also saved $2,000 a month over the past two years on its electricity costs by not running aerators, thanks to the use of septage ponds on site.
“Much of the increased revenues from septic are the result of a slight price increase from $0.15 per gallon to $0.20,” Fiscus noted. “That extra $0.05 a gallon is a pretty small increase for customers but created a substantial revenue increase for the landfill.”
Overall, business in 2021 brought in $1,855,724 in revenues against $1,222,192 in operational expenses. This margin was better than 2020, which saw $1,626,587 in revenues vs. $1,378,907 in expenses. The landfill is an enterprise operation that runs solely off revenues for its services and not from taxpayer dollars. For a complete list of fees at the Garfield County landfill, go to garfield-county.com/landfill/fees.
“Tell the team out at that landfill that they’ve done a good job,” Jankovsky added. “They should be proud of what they’ve accomplished out there.”