North Valley Refuse is refuting allegations that it deliberately dumps recycled material from Whitefish in the landfill. While the company has launched a full internal investigation into the claims made by a former employee, it says improper sorting and contamination of recyclables is the main reason plastic, paper and aluminum end up in the county dump.

The allegations come from former North Valley Refuse driver and Whitefish resident Frank Boylan. He complied a packet of information documenting his claims that was given to the city of Whitefish, North Valley Refuse and some the recycling company’s customers.

The city of Whitefish contracts with North Valley Refuse for its garbage pickup and to maintain the recycling drop-off sites in town. Individual customers are charged directly for curbside recycling. Recycled materials are to be taken to Pacific Steel and Recycling in Kalispell.

“Our initial review suggests the vast majority of these allegations are completely unfounded or grossly misrepresented,” North Valley Refuse General Manager Roger Bridgeford said in a letter to the city. “We, however, take this matter seriously and want the public to know that we are reviewing each claim and will take any corrective actions we find necessary.”

Boylan worked for North Valley Refuse for seven years before he was let go in June.

“In that time I watched as all of the recycle materials customers put out were hauled to the landfill in one type of truck or another,” Boylan said.

He began documenting his route in 2008 after he noticed a truck dumping a load of recycled items at the landfill.

“That’s when I started paying attention,” he told the Whitefish Pilot.

“At first the recyclables were picked up in the garbage truck and were thrown through a side hatch in the truck to look as if they were being recycled, but in fact were shoveled out at the landfill,” Boylan said.

As the recycle route expanded, Boylan claims recyclables were thrown together, then emptied into a garbage truck that went to the landfill.

At one point, Boylan said he was told to stop taking cardboard to the recycling center because it wasn’t worth the time and fuel. He claims he was told to mix cardboard with the garbage and haul it to the landfill.

“I threw the cardboard away and it bothered me,” he said.

“[Customers] are putting their stuff out there in good faith that it’s going to recycling,” he added.

While Bridgeford disputes Boylan’s claims, he told the Pilot the company’s initial investigation revealed a few areas where their recycling routes could be tightened up.

“We found some guys cutting corners,” he said. “We’re rerouting and changing some things. We want to make sure all recyclables get recycled.”

Still, Bridgeford notes that contamination is a constant problem.

Contamination happens when non-recyclable items such as food, garbage or certain types of plastic, cardboard or glossy paper are mixed in with recyclable items.

“It appears that some of these allegations actually stem from instances in which materials were contaminated and not marketable, which is, unfortunately, not uncommon,” Bridgeford said.

Pacific Steel Manager Dale Augusta confirmed with the Pilot the recycling center buys “tons” of material from North Valley Refuse, and agrees that contamination is likely an issue.

“Like us, they probably get a lot of consumer waste that’s dumped in our bins with the recyclables,” Augusta said.

“Some stuff we get is so bad, we don’t have a market for it. We’re a business; we have to make money,” he said.

Whitefish Public Works Operations Supervisor Greg Acton said the city recycling drop-off sites are contaminated more often than expected.

“In those circumstances, we are aware that the entire bin content goes to the landfill as mixed waste,” he said.

Bridgeford said North Valley Refuse attempts to address the contamination problem through education, “for both employees and the public, so we can increase the amount of cardboard, plastic and other materials that can be reused and recycled.”

He noted the company has taken 700,000 pounds of recyclable material to market in the last year.

Acton said education may help, but he’s not convinced it will eliminate the problem.

“I have seen some of the contamination and it is not accidental or because the individual was uninformed,” he said.

Citizens for a Better Flathead’s WasteNot Project offers information on recycling in the valley and how to properly sort material. Visit www.wastenotproject.org to learn more.

Matt Baldwin is the editor of the Whitefish Pilot.