Garbage is a growing problem in Lincoln County, literally. For a number of years the county has been working to get partnerships in place across the region in order to effectively and efficiently handle household waste.

“We are still working with Idaho to form a district where we can start taking some of our refuse over to Idaho which will save us quite a bit of money, actually,” said Lincoln County Commissioner Bob King. “The haul is shorter than taking it to Kemmerer from Thayne. Right now the closest they can give us is a savings of about $50 a ton.”

Commissioner King said that the possible savings are significant for both Star Valley and Lincoln County. The potential partnership “seems to be moving forward quite well,” he said.

“The last time we talked with them they said they might be able to take refuse as early as December,” King said. “There’s a lot of things that have to fall in line in order for that to happen.”

According to King, if an agreement can be reached between Lincoln County and Idaho, the yearly savings to the county could be as much as $500,000 a year to the county budget.

“If we can lower the costs at the landfill then we can lower the rates for the people who use the landfill,” King said. “So that trickles right down to the actual taxpayer. We would certainly like to do that.”

According to King, there is no official time line with regards to when the county can finalize an agreement with Idaho regarding the transfer for trash. However, Lincoln County would like to see it happen sooner rather than later, he said.