The Gate City is considering spending $2.7 million to acquire and renovate a large building and property on Garrett Way in Pocatello as a means of improving the local curbside recycling program. Director of Public Services Tom Kirkman told the City Council during a work session on June 13 that the city would like to explore using Sanitation Department reserve funds to work with two recycling companies to obtain the Western Recycling baling facility on Garrett Way and other necessary equipment owned by the Phoenix-based Republic Services that are part of a program that more than three out four Pocatello residents use.
“The Sanitation Department is always looking for ways to increase efficiencies because through efficiencies we can lower operating costs,” Kirkman said. “So, we’ve been in contact with Republic Services about creating a partnership with them on how to help us reduce our overhead and help the environment.”
He continued, “We would like to purchase the existing baling facility at Western Recycling. We would like to bale our own products, saving the baling costs that are associated with that. Then, the material will be trucked to Republic Services and they will sort it and then we will get back the commodity value from that.”