Wanted: ‘Essential’ waste only
Two lines of vehicles wait to exit the Ramsey Transfer Station Monday afternoon. The Kootenai County Solid Waste Department asks customers to limit their trips to the station during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JENNIFER PASSARO/Press
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Kootenai County Solid Waste officials are asking the public to stop using either the Coeur d’Alene or Post Falls transfer stations unless bringing essential waste.
Essential waste is garbage that can rot, smell, carry diseases, or cause other potential hazards within a dwelling.
Wood waste, furniture, metal, hazmat, or recycling items are not considered essential waste and the county asks the public not to dispose of these materials for now.
“Our primary focus is the safe and efficient collection of waste and disposal,” said Jessica Douglas, safety and recycling coordinator for Kootenai County Solid Waste.
Transfer station employees are working altered schedules to limit their exposure. Employees are instructed not to assist with unloading waste, to keep distance between themselves and customers, and to limit shared resources. The county anticipates that this will cause delays at both facilities.
Beginning Wednesday, both transfer stations will also suspend collection of household hazardous waste until the COVID-19 crisis has passed.
Many items that are regularly used around the house, such as antifreeze, engine oil and cleaning chemicals, can pose a threat to health and/or the environment if they are not disposed of properly and are considered hazardous waste.
The county asks that only customers performing state-approved essential services use the transfer station facilities.
Laureen Chaffin, principal planner for Kootenai County Solid Waste, understands that people without work or stuck at home may use this down time to clean out the garage or tidy the yard.
Chaffin estimates that the first weekend in April brought 1,800 customers to the transfer station on Ramsey in Coeur d’Alene.
“This is their outlet,” Chaffin said. “We don’t want to turn into a social hotspot.”
“It helps if people can limit dropping off things like tires that have been sitting in their garage for six months if they could just sit for two more months,” said Nancy Jones, BOCC communications manager.
The county encourages customers to use their curbside collection to maximum potential and only use transfer stations if absolutely necessary.
Crews have been divided into two shifts to minimize exposure and allot extra time for cleaning shared spaces between shifts.
“The realistic part is that COVID is running through our building as we speak,” Chaffin said. “All of that waste comes here. We are doing our best. That is why we ask for things to be bagged.”