KDHE Home - News 1999 - News Release
Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor
Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary
For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Heideman, 785-296-1529
Sparsely Populated Northwest Kansas Pursues Cost-Effective Recycling
HILL CITY -- The spirit is willing, Randy Hrabe insists. It is the pocketbook and miles of sparsely populated high plains that have slowed the development of a regional recycling plan in Northwest Kansas.Recycling has been slower to catch on in Northwest Kansas compared to the rest of the state because quantities of recyclables are so low. Hrabe, president of a non-profit certified development company for the area, Pioneer Country Development, leads a 14-county Northwest Kansas group studying solid waste issues. Hrabe said that with sparse population comes less waste, which puts less pressure on the local landfills.
In addition, many landfills in western Kansas do not fall under more stringent monitoring and closure requirements stipulated for less arid regions that are more susceptible to groundwater contamination. That makes landfill disposal of all trash -- including recyclables -- more cost efficient in the short term for dry western Kansas communities.
"If we all work together, we can collect enough to make recycling regional," Hrabe said. "We just don't have enough people out here to generate volume. Whether you are talking about recycling cans, plastic or old tires, the transportation costs make it expensive to ship recyclables to market."
But many residents in the region are organizing recycling efforts. They recognize it is better for the environment and are also aware that exempt landfills can close quickly if the groundwater shows signs of contamination.
"Sherman County lost its landfill last October," Hrabe said. "Who's to say that when they take another water test, another county won't lose its landfill?"
Hrabe said a few Northwest Kansas communities have recycling programs. Thomas County ships plastics to the Dillon Stores, cardboard to Wal-Mart, and a Coors distributor in Colby takes glass and aluminum cans for recycling. Eddie Martin, owner of Christian Car Care in Rooks County, received a grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to purchase a mobile metal baler to travel to facilities throughout northwest Kansas to recycle appliances and other white goods. The Rawlins County recycling center takes newspaper, Hrabe said.
"Rawlins County has a company out of Ogallalah, Neb., that pays for recyclables. It helps to have a buyer."
Although these individual county recycling efforts are a start, Hrabe is optimistic a group of five counties could band together and create a central recycling site that could work in conjunction with Hays, which has a well-developed recycling program and can move more recyclables to market faster. The counties include Thomas, Rawlins, Decatur, Sheridan and Logan.
Hrabe said he has also been talking with Corey Coffelt, owner of Recycle Solutions LLC in Shawnee. Recycle Solutions received a grant from KDHE to purchase equipment to be used in a statewide collection program for recyclables. Coffelt is considering sending a self-contained flatbed truck with a small baler for plastics and cardboard and a can densifier on a monthly route throughout the state. Officials in Colby, Goodland, Tribune, St. Francis, Decatur County, Thomas County, Wallace County and Rawlins County have written letters of support.
Purchasing recycling equipment is far too expensive for the modest volume of recyclables generated by the region. Hrabe said the equipment issue has come up before.
Several counties in Northwest Kansas had considered purchasing a mobile tire shredder and shipping the material to a recycler. But after figuring the costs and conducting an informal census of discarded tires, the project was dropped in favor of hiring someone to come in and shred the tires to be landfilled.
Sheltered storage also will encourage recycling. Materials can be accumulated until there is sufficient volume to efficiently transport a load to market.
"If we can get a building here, we could get a permanent recycling program going," Hrabe said. A central building to hold recyclables represents a significant cost up front. But an established facility attracts volunteers and recyclables. Hrable sees it as a momentum that, once begun, won't stop.