The Durango Recycling Center closure is planned to remain in effect until reopening to the public on March 5.
City residential and commercial recycling collections will continue on their regular schedules and the glass collection chute at the center remains open for disposal.
The recycling center closed Feb. 5 for maintenance on the materials baler, which, according to best practices, needs work every five to seven years.
Durango Public Works Operations Manager Joey Medina said in an email to The Durango Herald that maintenance is going well, but crews found additional damage to the baler that “needed to be addressed with additional fabrication work.”
Work began earlier this month with Denver-based company Ultimate Specialties, which was hired to perform the maintenance.
The scope of work involved a relining of the baler’s metal floor, sidewalls and top, as well as the installation of a new cutting edge and a new railing, Medina said earlier this month.
The city obtained its current baler around 2012, and it had its last partial relining five or six years ago.
Durango collects recycling materials from about 4,850 residents and over 500 commercial customers, Public Works Director Allison Baker said at a City Council meeting. Recycling materials are sorted by type: cardboard, batteries, electronics, glass and single-stream materials.
cburney@durangoherald.com
