At the Jan. 6 quarterly meeting, Kootenai County Solid Waste described steps to reduce abuse at rural collection sites and to improve service reliability.

Director John Phillips said the county purchased property in the Wolf Lodge Bay area for a future staffed rural collection site. JUB Engineering is preparing plans and contract documents so the county can advertise the project in early 2026. The planned staffed site is intended to consolidate nearby sites and reduce abuse that occurs at currently unstaffed locations.

Phillips detailed issues with the county’s rural-haul contractor, Sunshine Recycling, which he said generally performs well but experienced difficulties during the week of Christmas because of inexperienced drivers and equipment breakdowns. He said Dave Husky, the operations manager, remained in contact with the contractor to ensure continued hauling during the busier-than-normal period.

The county has installed surveillance cameras at Kid Island Bay and Sunup Bay collection sites; the cameras record 24 hours a day and signs were posted to notify the public. Phillips said the sheriff’s department has been given a direct link to remotely access the cameras and county staff will coordinate with law enforcement to investigate commercial dumping and other egregious violations.

Why it matters: Many county residents rely on rural collection sites; rising abuse and overflowing dumpsters during holidays increase cleanup costs and threaten service continuity. County staff emphasized compliance with posted rules (no commercial disposal, do not leave items outside containers) and warned that the future of some sites depends on public cooperation.

Next steps: JUB Engineering to complete bid documents for the Wolf Lodge staffed site; county and sheriff will continue coordinated patrols and public-education efforts.