Haines Friends of Recycling is hoping the third time’s the charm for securing a plot of land for a planned facility after at least two other potential sites were found to have problems.
The new site would be built on a lot currently owned by the Haines Borough between the current Community Waste Solutions landfill and the Lily Lake access road. The site was approved by the Haines Borough Planning Commission, and now heads to the assembly, which will hear a measure approving the transfer at least three times before voting on it.
The site was identified after another site in the area was turned down because of terrain, and a more recent idea to use space adjacent to the public safety building was discarded because it would have required expensive work to build a foundation.
“The big lesson is to be patient. Things take longer than they do,” said Board Chair of Haines Friends of Recycling Melissa Aaronson. “I think that’s some corollary of Murphy’s Law.”
Unlike most communities, Haines’ trash is handled by a for-profit company, Community Waste Solutions, which charges consumers to drop off trash at its landfill. Haines Friends of Recycling is a nonprofit that started about 25 years ago to recycle trash and to reduce the amount that goes to the landfill. Users of recycling services aren’t charged for drop-offs, but the organization asks for small donations to cover its operating expenses.
The current recycling center is on Small Tracts Road on a plot owned by the Chilkoot Indian Association. Friends of Recycling organizers say they need a new facility to store more materials indoors, which would keep it from deteriorating in the weather, and prevent bear encounters.
They say having a secure property will help them bring in grant funding.
“Foundations won’t give grants until we have property,” said Aaronson. “No granting agency is gonna fund for leased property.”
Still, she said the current glut of infrastructure grant money is starting to fade, so the group is hoping the assembly will act quickly to approve the land transfer.
Aaronson said the proposed site doesn’t have the same easy access that the public safety building had, but it has the advantage of being close to the landfill. That would allow consumers to have a ‘one-stop-shop’ to drop off waste. While getting there would lead to more traffic on the residential neighborhood roads, the center would keep its hours similar to Community Waste Solutions’ hours.
In addition to the new facility, the group has also been looking into a plastic upcycling plant, which warms plastic into a sludge that can be used to make boards and other products.
The group said if the assembly approves the property transfer, it will start working on fundraising in the community and writing grants. Last fall, the group raised more than $40,000 for the project from 50 donors.
Aaronson said if there are no other significant delays, the group hopes to have the facility up by 2025 with the plastic recycling plant following shortly thereafter.