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Free trash day every day

Joel Stonington

Pitkin County won’t hold Free Dump Day this spring. Instead, every day is Free Dump Day – for county residents.A thousand motorists visited the landfill on Free Dump Day last year, dropping off trash that would have cost a total of $30,000 to deposit there any other time. Many of the people unloading refuse weren’t even county residents. “Free Dump Day was a logistical nightmare,” said Dylan Hoffman, county outreach and compliance director for solid waste. “There’s a thousand cars up here. It’s really tough for us.”So, starting June 1, residents of Pitkin County can drop off up to 5 cubic yards of trash per year, at any time throughout the year. “It’s just finding a way to bring in that material on a consistent basis throughout the course of the year,” Hoffman said. “It’s the same, but you can bring it in anytime you want.”Chris Hoofnagle, landfill site manager, presented the idea of a voucher system to county commissioners last month to enthusiastic response. Beginning June 1, a Pitkin County resident will be able to take a telephone bill or driver’s license up to the landfill and get a punch pass good for 10 dropoffs – each punch is good for half a cubic yard of trash.”We want to make sure this is a Pitkin County program,” Hoffman said. “It is the Pitkin County landfill.”Half a cubic yard is roughly the equivalent of five full trash cans; 5 cubic yards would fill about two and a half pickup truck beds.Further, residents can always drop off recyclables for free. “It still delivers the same service and allows people to do spring cleaning,” Hoffman said. “But everyone doesn’t have to come on the same day.”Joel Stonington’s e-mail address is jstonington@aspentimes.com