Chaffee County gets $4 million from EPA for recycling center

Chaffee County was awarded $4 million in EPA funding Wednesday for a new waste transfer, recycling and composting station, offering a boost to the Upper Arkansas Valley beset by private recycling closures and other trash logistics challenges. 

The EPA also gave $450,938 to Colorado officials to “improve solid waste management planning and data collection in communities across the state,” as part of a new waste and recycling fund created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

“As a small, rural community, Chaffee County has struggled for many years to establish permanent, holistic solid waste diversion and materials recovery systems,” deputy Chaffee County administrator Beth Helmke said in a release from the EPA. “Constructing a local transfer station and materials…