Seeking to meet their waste diversion goal, Summit County officials are poised to boost funding for recycling initiatives in next year’s county budget. Officials are preparing to spend just over $2.24 million on diversion efforts in 2024, a more than $158,000 increase from the county’s 2023 projected budget. The money will come from the county’s Strong Future Fund, which was approved by voters in 2018 to serve as a dedicated revenue source for early childhood care, behavioral health, fire mitigation, recycling and public infrastructure.
The county is aiming to divert 40% of all waste from its landfill by 2035, a goal that may need to be strengthened, said High Country Conservation Center Executive Director Jen Schenk. “Recently, the EPA set a goal nationally to get to 50% diversion by 2030,” Schenk said during a Sept. 19 presentation to the Summit Board of County Commissioners. “I do think we need to revisit this goal as a community and perhaps make it more aggressive.”
Schenk said any decision on increasing the diversion goal will likely come from the county’s Zero Waste Task Force, which helps craft local recycling policy. Currently, the county has a diversion rate of 22%.