Market downturns dropped plastic, glass, and now cardboard from the list of things you can recycle in Beaverhead County. There are several barriers in place when trying to recycle these materials, such as transportation costs, markets purchasing these materials, and recycling contamination.

What’s recycling contamination? This is when recyclers throw materials into a recycling bin that either can not be recycled or have not been sorted into the correct bin. This causes contamination of the recycling material already in the bin and, depending on the level of contamination, can result in the entire bin being landfilled instead of recycled.

Since glass and plastics aren’t currently being recycled, consider purchasing alternative containers and packaging materials that can be recycled. For example, purchase beverages that come in aluminum cans instead of glass bottles, so that the cans can be recycled. Also, asking local stores to carry items that come in recyclable packaging or are biodegradable can aid us in our local recycling efforts. If you have any questions on recycling in Beaverhead County please call the Solid Waste office or contact Beaverhead Recycling at (406) 683-1249 in the evenings.

Like us on Facebook for continuous updates!