By Janice Lee, President (for) Board of Directors, Ravalli County Recycling
The board of Ravalli County Recycling (RCR) has made the difficult decision to permanently shutdown all operations, including drop-off days and pick-up services. Last date for any and all recycling services is Tuesday, December 31, 2019.
Ravalli County Recycling was formed in 2010 by a group of citizens who saw a need for recycling. They filled that need by growing their grassroots non-profit organization into a dedicated service that saved 7.25 million pounds of recyclable materials from entering the landfill. The organization has grown large enough to have 2 paid employees and currently has about 25 dedicated volunteers. Throughout the years, RCR has fought hard to maintain recycling in Ravalli County and made tough decisions, such as no longer accepting plastic, in order to balance the desires of the community with the cost of operating the organization.
Ravalli County Recycling could not have accomplished so much without our hard-working volunteers past and present, our employees, the Rapp Family Foundation, the Rutledge Family, Dusti Johnson of MT Department of Environmental Quality, and our customers. To all of you who have recycled, supported, or donated to us: We thank you for every moment and every dollar you have chosen to give to this organization.
Unfortunately, the landscape of recycling has changed across the country and around the world, and RCR can no longer maintain operations because of insurmountable obstacles such as poor markets, volunteer burnout, lack of municipal funding, and our current rental location going up for sale. We know that our loyal customers and volunteers will want to continue to support recycling. We’ve identified several ways to do so:
— First, please consider the 4R’s: Refuse single-use items, Reduce, Reuse , then Recycle . There are so many ways to make a positive impact.
— Second, consider volunteering at like-minded organizations that promote sustainability in the Bitterroot Valley. Ravalli County is full of wonderful organizations that care deeply for our environment.
— Third, talk to city and county officials about funding recycling programs at a local level. To our knowledge, we are the only recycling operation in Montana that does not receive some sort of government assistance.
We intend to continue to accept recyclables (materials list can be found at www.RavalliRecycling.org ) and pick up current commercial curbside and commercial cardboard accounts until December 31. Please come by, bring your recyclables, and talk to us. We hope that there’s a strong and long-lasting future for recycling in Ravalli County — either with help from city or county officials or from volunteers and other concerned citizens who will come up with the next iteration of a grassroots organization.
Please email us at contact@ravallirecycling.org with any questions.