Lewis County Transfer Station Recycling Changes Take Effect March 1

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On March 1, commingled, or mixed, recycling and plastic recycling will end at Lewis County transfer stations in Centralia and Morton in an effort to reduce confusion about what to recycle and reduce the amount of garbage being thrown into recycling containers, according to a press release from the county.

Starting on Jan. 2, the transfer station recycling program entered into a transitional phase in which “Recycle Reset” was introduced to transfer station recycling customers. Staff and volunteers have been working in the recycling areas at both sites to explain to customers how recyclables will need to be sorted once the changes take effect.

Starting March 1, transfer station recycling customers will be required to sort their recyclables into the following containers: glass bottles and jars, corrugated cardboard, metal and paper (which includes paper bags and boxes, office and school paper, newspapers, magazines and mail).

Confusion about plastic recycling and the commingled concept has led to increasing amounts of garbage being tossed into recycling containers at Lewis County transfer stations. The hope is that the elimination of plastics recycling and the commingled container will help customers keep the recycling containers free from garbage, said Greg Gachowsky, manager of the Lewis County Solid Waste Utility, a division of the Lewis County Public Works Department, which operates the transfer stations.

“When the county hauls large loads of commingled or mixed recycling away for processing, and the containers have a significant amount of garbage, it isn’t cost-effective for the processor to sort the garbage out,” he said. “The entire load is typically thrown away, and we are charged for the disposal fee, plus the round-trip hauling fee, and nothing is recycled. We are hoping Recycle Reset will result in more materials actually getting recycled.”



To assist customers with Recycle Reset, both transfer stations have developed a color-coded design in the recycling areas. Customers should look for the following color combinations: white for paper, blue for glass, brown for corrugated cardboard and gray for metal.

In addition, Lewis County is working on a direct mailing that will be delivered to each household in the county. It will include a flyer that explains the transfer station recycling changes along with a magnet that customers can put on their refrigerators to remind them of the materials to include in the transfer station drop-off recycling program. These changes do not affect the curbside recycling program LeMay offers from Morton to Pe Ell. Households with curbside service should contact LeMay about any changes in the items that are accepted in curbside recycling containers.

The Utility Division received a grant from the Department of Ecology to improve the recycling at both transfer stations.

Those with questions are encouraged to call 360-740-1451, or visit lewiscountywa.gov/recyclereset.