Queen Creek presents annual environmental update; plans permanent recycling center and battery collection

Ramona Simpson, Operations Manager in the Town of Queen Creek public works department, presented the town's annual environmental program update on April 2, outlining 2024 diversion metrics, pilot programs and proposed next steps including a permanent, fenced recycling center at the town's Field Operations Facility (FOF) and expanded battery recycling at spring drop-off events.

Simpson told the council that in 2024 the town's scheduled recycling drop‑off events diverted more than 113 tons of material from the landfill and served 1,138 vehicles. Queen Creek's pilot glass program — run in partnership with the town's hauler, Waste Connections, and a regional processor — collected about 27 tons of glass in 2024 with very low contamination, Simpson said. A separate BigBelly pilot at the splash pad collected approximately 600 gallons of trash and 572 gallons of recycling; Simpson said the pilot produced operational learnings (for example, oversized pizza boxes sometimes do not fit) and that staff will evaluate container sizing and placement going forward.

On an operational need cited widely across waste haulers, Simpson said the town will add battery collection to the April 26 recycling drop‑off event to reduce the risk of fires caused by lithium and other batteries entering trash or recycling streams. The town will accept household cell and button batteries, AA/AAA/C/D/9‑volt and lithium coin cells at the drop‑off; it will not accept wet‑cell (car or golf cart) batteries. Collected batteries will be handled by a vendor (Simpson named Blue Whale Materials) that processes battery material into black‑sand material for recovery of rare‑earth minerals. Simpson described the change as both a risk‑reduction measure for trucks and facilities and part of a circular‑economy effort to recover materials domestically.

Simpson explained a staff proposal to move the town's temporary Ellsworth Road recycling center to a permanent location at the Field Operations Facility near Frontier Family Park. The proposal would extend the south half of Ryan Road, create a gated and fenced recycling drop area and install cameras, electrical service and dust controls. Simpson said funding has been accumulated in the town's enterprise fund for the work, that the location will be presented as a CIP item with a staff report and cost estimate, and that construction timing is expected to coordinate with planned police headquarters staging and work later this year.

Council members praised the town's glass recycling and outreach. Several asked for resident-facing materials (Simpson said stickers and inserts are available) and suggested operational tweaks, such as larger trash receptacles for oversized items at the splash pad. Council Member Padilla asked how the town ensures material is actually recycled; Simpson described local material recovery facilities (MRFs), regional capacity issues around COVID and a previous fire at a local MRF, and said Waste Connections currently markets clean, sorted commodities domestically or regionally.

The presentation was for council discussion; no ordinance or formal vote was required. Simpson said staff will return with a formal CIP staff report and timeline for the permanent recycling center and will proceed with battery collection at the April drop‑off event.