MATTAWA — Declining use of a Grant County-owned garbage collection facility near Mattawa, also called a drop box, may lead to reduced winter hours for the facility.

Grant County Public Works Director Sam Castro said he has submitted a request to the Grant County Commissioners to open the facility only on Saturdays for now.

“We’re down to one customer a day, and we can’t support that,” Castro said.

People in the area now have other options, Castro said, and that has had an impact on the county-operated facility’s use. A Saturday-only schedule will accommodate the current needs of the community, he said.

The facility is the only one operated by Grant County. In late 2020 the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee recommended closing it. Grant County Commissioners decided against it in mid-2021 but did close a similar facility near Coulee City.

Commissioner Danny Stone said state regulations require that the facility generate enough money to support itself.

“We’re not doing that. We’re losing money,” Stone said.

Castro said private companies operating in Mattawa and Royal City now provide services in the area that might’ve been provided at the county’s facility in the past. Royal City, Mattawa, Desert Aire and most of the surrounding unincorporated areas now have curbside service, he said, and bigger, bulkier garbage that might’ve gone to the county’s drop box in the past now can be accommodated by the private companies.

“It’s working, to me. Because we’re not having anybody show up (at the county facility),” Castro said.

The 2020 proposal to close the county’s facility drew protests from some south county residents, and for now, it’s still open.

“Right after that (decision), there was quite a bit of usage,” Stone said. “Recently we’ve had very few people using it.”

“The (commissioners), at least for now, have decided to keep it open,” Castro said.

Stone said commissioners are waiting to see what kind of services are being provided in the area before deciding what to do with the county facility.

“We don’t want to move forward with an official closure until we know what direction (south county officials) are moving,” Stone said. “We’re in the midst of that decision-making process.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].