Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Routt County residents can make more room for their winter gear by taking household junk down to the community recycling event from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Howelsen Hill.

Droves of cars will descend on the parking area packed with items including old skis, appliances, televisions, paint, yard waste, bike tubes, car batteries and fluorescent light bulbs.

Many items are free to recycle, but a fee is required for things like old televisions, computers, paint and electronics.

Pharmaceuticals will not be collected this year because a drop-off event for those was held last weekend. About 40 pounds of drugs were collected.

The community recycling event takes place each year and is hosted by the Yampa Valley Sustainability Council and Yampa Valley Recycles. It aims to provide a recycling opportunity for residents and not businesses.

“It’s been really successful,” said Sarah Jones, executive director of the Sustainability Council. “We usually have more than 400 cars come through.”

Jones said it’s amazing to see the amount of stuff that people bring to the event each year.

“I just got a call today about a hot tub,” she said.

Last year’s haul included 100 pairs of skis, 30 gallons of fluorescent bulbs, 250 gallons of plastic bags, 180 bike tires and tubes, 755 gallons of latex paint and 45 cubic yards of electronics.

Waste Management will be at the site to collect old electronics. According to the organizers, old electronics contain valuable reusable materials, but they also contain harmful materials, so it’s important they are disposed of properly.

Twin Enviro Services will be at the event to collect unwanted building materials, skis, appliances and other items the company later will take to the Milner Landfill and resell at Home ReSource. Twin Enviro also will be collecting yard waste that the company uses to make compost. Compost will be available for purchase, as well.

The Routt County Department of Environmental Health has arranged to have some hazardous waste materials collected. Those items include contaminated gasoline, oil-based paints and stains, pesticides, herbicides, mercury, household cleaners and aerosol cans.

About 40 volunteers are needed to help the event run smoothly, and 20 have signed up already. To volunteer, visit www.yvsc.org or show up Saturday.

Accepted materials

Free to recycle

Appliances, working

Bikes, bike tires and tubes

Books for children, gently used

Building materials

Car batteries, no alkaline

Clothing and fabric not suitable for reuse, must be at least 1 square foot in size

Compact fluorescent light bulbs

Cooking oil

Fertilizer in original container that is at least 60 percent full

Fluorescent tube light bulbs, no tubes from businesses and no tubes longer than 6 feet

Gasoline

Hazardous waste — contaminated gasoline, pesticides, herbicides, mercury, household cleaners, aerosol cans

Laptops

Phone books

Packing popcorn

Plastic bags

Printer cartridges

Pool chemicals in original containers that are at least 60 percent full

Phones

Scrap metal

Shoes, gently used

Shredded paper

Single-stream recyclables

Skis

Spray paint

Wine corks, natural only

Wrappers for candy bars, chip bags, energy bars, cookies, juice pouches, coffee bags

Yard waste including grass, sticks, leaves, garden cuttings and branches up to 6 feet in length and 12 inches in diameter

Ziploc brand bags and plastic containers

Fee to recycle

$75: Freon removal from nonworking appliances

$45: TVs, console or projection

$20: TVs, tabletop

$15: Computer monitors

$10: Electronics, including VCR and DVD players, stereos, alarm clocks, desktop fax machines, scanners, printers, desktop computers, mice and keyboards

$3 per gallon: Oil-based paint and stains

$2: Propane tanks and fire extinguishers

$1 per gallon: Motor oil and latex paint

To reach Matt Stensland, call 970-871-4247 or email mstensland@SteamboatToday.com