Voters Approve Tax Hike To Help Recycle Used Mattresses
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- Voters in Summit County this week, passed a multi-million dollar tax increase to help them recycle more. One of the biggest and most challenging items this will impact is used mattresses.
Crushing down the stuff residents in Summit County throw out, massive tractors work to compact the debris to make room for more of it at the Summit Landfill located outside Dillon.
"As much as we can recycle and reuse that's good for us and our way of life," said Public Works Director Tom Gosiorowski.
He knows they face an uphill battle dealing with all the junk, with mattresses proving to be one of the biggest challenges they face.
"They don't compact very well because they are springing, of course. We like to not put them in the landfill or put them in the ground. There's now funding through ballot measure 1A will allow us to increase recycling programs for products like mattresses."
With the new funding, recycling programs handling everything from plastics to compost will increase their capacity, which means more trash staying out of the landfill.
The funding should start coming in next spring when property taxes are due.
"What I'm really excited about, is it provides $1.7 million per year for the next 10 years for increased recycling programs," Gosiorowski added.
"We have a goal of moving toward zero waste. Eventually we want to get to the point where we have no material going into landfills with everything being reused and recycled. That's a long ways off but we hope within the next 10 years to be up to 40 percent diversion."
The 1A ballot measure voters passed will also be spread out to fund more preschool programs and mental health care programming.
Matt Kroschel covers news throughout Colorado working from the CBS4 Mountain Newsroom. Send story ideas to mrkroschel@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter @Matt_Kroschel.