KSJD Local Newscast - July 26, 2024

Local residents who have been waiting for weeks to resume recycling their cardboard and plastic will have to wait a bit longer. The machine at the Montezuma County landfill that compresses and bales such material has been out of operation since May. As a result, collections of recyclable materials other than metal have been halted. Landfill manager Mel Jarmon told KSJD he hopes the baling machine will be working by the first week of August. He says the problem lies in the fact that the baler and related equipment are decades old. The strapper that binds materials compressed by the baler broke and had to be replaced. That involved a visit from people in Texas who were the only ones who could provide and install the appropriate strapper. Jarmon says that has been done, but the strapper’s technology is new, while the computer that runs the baler dates from 1995. In order for them to communicate, the landfill now needs a new modem from a firm in Georgia. Jarmon said, “Nobody in Cortez carries that modem because it’s obsolete equipment.” When the programming issues are solved, the baler will be working again. In the meantime, Jarmon says the landfill gets “probably 50 phone calls a day” from people asking when they’ll be able to start recycling again.