4 Corners Recycling updates commission: glass shipped to Salt Lake, plastics markets tighten, county diversion steady

Dave Fleveret of 4 Corners Recycling updated the commission on local recycling operations, material markets and program costs. Fleveret said 4 Corners serves multiple counties and employs about 26 staff in its processing operation; an associated Full Circle Recycling crew handles local cardboard with an additional four jobs.

Fleveret described market changes: bottles and cans volumes have shifted (aluminum recycling has grown while newspaper and magazine paper streams have declined), plastics markets are volatile (numbers 3–7 often move to waste‑to‑energy or are otherwise low‑value), and glass must be crushed and shipped — currently to a processor in Salt Lake City where the material is pulverized and much of the cleaned glass feedstock goes to fiberglass insulation manufacturing.

Shannon (city public works) told the commission the city typically diverts roughly 600–700 tons of recyclables annually. For 2024 Shannon gave a staff accounting of commodities handled: about 25 tons of plastics, roughly 25 tons of aluminum, 200 tons (about 400,000 pounds) of cardboard, 220 tons (about 440,000 pounds) of mixed metals, and about 120 tons (240,000 pounds) of glass. The commission approved a three‑year contract with 4 Corners on the consent agenda earlier in the meeting.

Commissioners asked about education, contamination (“wishful recycling”) and ways to reduce truck miles and costs; Fleveret described outreach plans, a new education hire, and operational pressures such as high truck prices and long lead times for new equipment.