Changes at the Mesa County landfill

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Mesa County’s landfill is facing changing times because the country’s second-largest waste company, Republic Services, bought two local businesses last year.

“So we have the landfill bring us your trash,” said Mesa County Solid Waste and Sustainability Division director Jennifer Richardson. “We take it.”

Mesa County runs a landfill, composts organic materials composting facility, and collects hazardous waste.

“Unfortunately, those facilities don’t pay for themselves,” said Richardson. Toss in a new competitor, Republic Services, and you’ve got a recipe for change.

County officials will not link Republic Services to county money but admit it did change customer habits.

Here’s what we found when we checked the county’s solid waste budget for 2023, expenses increased by 14.66 percent, and revenues decreased by -11.94 percent from the year before.

Officials credit the compost program’s increasing popularity. That’s why fees are up. Every year the county landfill composts over 60,000 cubic yards of material.

“I think you know, one of the benefits of having Mesa County run this landfill is that we can keep our fees low,” said Richardson.