Point Roberts residents to lose garbage, recycling pickup

JARED PABEN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

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POINT ROBERTS - Curbside trash and recycling pickup ends this month, and residents here will start having to take their own trash to a transfer station.

Point Recycling and Refuse won approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on Wednesday, June 17, to stop doing pickups, a service the company owner says isn't financially viable. Regulators are seeking applications from other companies to take over the service.

Starting Wednesday, July 1, all Point Roberts residents will have to haul their garbage to the county-owed transfer station on Johnson Road and pay to dispose of it.

County government will wait to see if companies apply and become certified by the UTC to do garbage service. If one does, then the county will probably sign a contract with that company to run the transfer station, said Frank Abart, the county's public works director.

If no company receives approval from the UTC, then the county will seek a company interested in operating just the transfer station, Abart said. Point Recycling and Refuse, which currently operates the station, would be able to submit a proposal to continue operating it.

"This is a pretty unstable situation into which we're trying to inject a little stability," said Jon Hutchings, county public works assistant director.

Point Recycling and Refuse owner Arthur Wilkowski has been fighting with state regulators and Whatcom County about garbage and recycling service since the beginning of 2008 when his recycling truck broke down. The county insists on curbside pickup, but Wilkowski has said it's not financially practical.

In a recent letter to residents, the county Public Works Department listed three big challenges for a company collecting garbage: Point Roberts has only several-hundred garbage customers; multiple-border crossings back into the U.S. are required because Canada won't allow garbage to be imported; and there's no market right now for recycled materials.

At least one Point Roberts resident, David Gellatly, wants to take over the collection of garbage and recyclables. He previously applied to pickup recyclables, and plans to amend his application to include garbage. Gellatly said he still has logistics to work out and is seeking support from the community, but he plans to apply.