About two months after they first closed, the transfer stations in Bayfield and Marvel are expected to reopen as soon as Nov. 8.
The La Plata Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday modifying the tipping fees at the two locations at the request of the Reliable Waste Service, the contractor with the winning bid to operate the stations.
Transfer stations are a critical resource for residents of rural parts of the county that do not have municipal trash collection.
“People are really mad about it,” Commissioner Marsha Porter-Norton said of the closures from the dais Tuesday.
The two stations closed in early September after the company operating them, GFL Environmental, was acquired by Republic Services in June. The contract to operate the stations expired, and Republic Services was not responsive to the county’s requests to renew the agreement.
“Apparently, we tried to contact Republic for renewal but never got a response,” La Plata County spokesman Ted Holteen previously told The Durango Herald in an email.
Porter-Norton called the situation “tremendously challenging.”
Reliable Waste Service, a La Plata County-based company, will now operate the stations. County staff hope to have them open again by Nov. 8, although commissioners were warned that the date is “not set in stone.”
Tipping fees – the costs of dumping trash – will change slightly but remain largely consistent with previous rates.
The new operator will accept furniture at a rate of $20-$50, depending on the size of the item. Household waste will cost $3 per bag with a minimum load of two bags.
Now that the BOCC has approved the updated tipping fees, the county’s procurement department can send out a contract for the operation, which RWS will have 10 days to return.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
