PARK CITY, Utah — After operating out of the old bus barn for 35 years, it’s time for Recycle Utah to say goodbye.
“We're on 0.4 acres right now, and we see over 400 cars a day visiting our center,” said education director Chelsea Hafer. "So a lot of the time there's a line all the way down the block."
“It is a struggle to operate in such close quarters for what we're trying to do, and the scale that we have grown to,” added executive director Andy Hecht.
Park City Municipal and Summit County knew it was time for a change.
“We had folks in the county driving all the way into Park City to recycle a few wine bottles,” said Park City Mayor Ryan Dickey. "So, we think we're going to actually be able to increase our diversion rate, which is the real goal here — diverting more recyclable things out of our landfill while having a new site that's in a better place."
The new facility will be bigger and in a more centralized spot for the entire county.
“We worked together to identify this four-acre piece of land that is contiguous to residential areas, but not too close,” Dickey said. "It’s sort of out by the Home Depot, if you're familiar with that in Park City. It's adjacent to High Valley Transit transportation, easy to get to."
Hecht said they are excited for the new facility, but there are some things they need to figure out.
“We do have a date that we have to be off of our land here, and that date does not work with design, permitting, construction of the new facility,” he said.
With the lease ending in August, they’re working to see how they can keep their operations going.
“What we're looking at right now is putting up a temporary structure so that we can continue operations on our new lot while the permanent structure is being built,” Hafer said.
Hecht said they plan to keep the heart of Recycle Utah alive, no matter where they’re located.
“We're a recycling center, but people come here to bump into other people. It really is a community facility, and we're looking at really leaning into that, doubling down and finding ways to keep that feel at our new facility,” he said.
Recycle Utah is planning to launch a capital campaign and raise the bulk of the money itself.
“Through a strong partnership between Summit County, Park City, and Recycle Utah, we are excited to support Recycle Utah’s move to a larger, more accessible facility that will serve the entire county,” Summit County Deputy Manager Janna Young said in a statement. “Summit County is proud to contribute 4.18 acres of county land to this effort, a win for all partners and for the community as we expand waste-diversion options now and into the future.”
