BISBEE — Cochise County has taken the first step to begin a countywide recycling program.

During Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Solid Waste Director Marty Haverty asked for and received approval to spend $30,000 to lease 19 recycling bins that will be placed at the 19 transfer stations in the county. He plans to lease five 40-cubic-yard roll-off bins for the urban sites and 14 for the rural stations.

Materials accepted will be No. 1 and No. 2 plastics, aluminum, steel and tin cans, newspaper, magazines, office paper, and cardboard.

The bins do not separate out the different recyclable materials. Instead, the recyclables are dumped in one container and compressed. When the bin is filled, it will be transported to the Sierra Vista transfer station, where the material will be baled and transported to a Tucson material recycling facility, Haverty said.

The county wants to strike a deal with Huachuca City to lease the material recycling material facility there that is no longer in use.

“In our initial discussion, they did show interest in participating,” Haverty told the supervisors.

There will be some work to do and possibly some equipment to purchase so the process can move forward more efficiently.

Huachuca City officials still have to deal with a methane leak coming from the town’s landfill to secure the area.

When that happens, Haverty said he plans for the county to sell the materials to recycling plants, which will make the county some more money.

If the county can get at least 4.9 percent (about 3,400 tons) annually of its solid waste into the recycling system, there could be a $48,160 per year net gain.

Current recycling efforts have netted around 2 percent diverted from the waste stream, so Haverty does not expect it to take much effort to gain extra materials as county residents begin to participate.

By placing the bins at the transfer stations, staff members can help keep an eye on the recycling bins and prevent people from dumping materials in them that are not allowed.

Haverty was not sure just when the bins would be ready for use.

What they'd recycle

Cochise County will soon be placing recycling bins at its transfer stations. Materials that will be accepted include:

• No. 1 and No. 2 plastics

• Aluminum

• Steel and tin cans, newspaper, magazines, office paper and cardboard.