Our Picture of Health 1998:
Focusing on Community Health to the Year 2000CHAPTER 9: NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
WASTE MANAGEMENT
82. Solid Waste Disposal
Solid waste volume has increased in Mesa County in spite of recycling efforts. There was a 22% increase in solid waste disposal from 1996-1997.
Twelve years of capacity remain for the Mesa County Landfill.
The landfill now weighs trucks as they bring waste, so future measures of solid waste will be more reliable than the current volume-based measure.
Figure 9-14: Solid Waste Disposal
Source: Mesa County Landfill
83. Material Recycled by Type
Figure 9-15 depicts the average pounds of recycling collected from three recycling companies: BFI, the City of Grand Junction Curbside Recycling and USA (formerly United Waste) Waste. The first two companies sited 1997 figures. USA Waste provided annualized 1998 data. This report combines the two.
There is no county-wide coordinated recycling effort, but BFI, USA Waste and the City of Grand Junction offer curbside recycling.
About 85% of the City of Grand Junction's 10,000 recycling customers regularly set out recycling. Approximately 50% of BFI residential customers regularly set out recycling.
All recycling companies reported an increase of about 30% in the past year.
Figure 9-15: Grand Junction Recycling, 1997-98
Source: Grand Junction Curbside Recycling, BFI, USA Waste
Next