Ogden is phasing out waste transfer stations as an allowable use inside city limits. The city council recently adopted an ordinance that outlaws new waste transfer stations in the city’s manufacturing and industrial zone, the only area where such facilities have been allowed.
Ogden Planning Manager Greg Montgomery said the ordinance will not impact businesses currently operating waste transfer stations and only applies to future requests for the use. Prior to the new ordinance, the city had allowed the stations in the aforementioned zone as a conditional use, which required a permit from the city. “From today on, if an application is made it wouldn’t be considered,” Montgomery said. “Anything legally approved prior to this is allowed to continue.”
And the restriction only applies to solid waste, Montgomery said. From the city’s viewpoint, a waste transfer station differs greatly from a recycling processing center even though waste is often mixed with and contaminates recyclable materials. The city says removal of that waste is considered a secondary and not a primary operation of recycling facilities.
Montgomery said two elements in the city’s general plan — diversifying the economic base and preventing environmentally inappropriate development — were major factors in introducing the ordinance. The impacts of waste transfer stations (which among other things includes rodents, noise and garbage escaping trucks) are at odds with the highlighted points in the plan, Montgomery said.
He also said Weber County’s waste station is equipped to accept all of the city’s garbage. During an August Planning Commission meeting, Weber County’s John Watson told the city the county waste station is able to meet area needs and is not anticipated to exceed capacity in the foreseeable future.
According to city council documents, the county deals with 800 tons of municipal waste per day and could handle 1,200 tons with no capacity improvements.