chelsea@recycleutah.org

By Jillian Perry

The Wasatch Front is rich with raw materials including sand, gravel, and limestone, deposited during the Lake Bonneville days thousands of years ago. The abundant supply of material, along with the growing demand for development, has made the Wasatch an attractive location for aggregate mining companies.

The scenic byway connecting the Wasatch Front and Back, Parley’s Canyon, has been an especially sought-after, yet incredibly controversial, destination for mining companies looking to extract aggregate materials for construction projects. Currently, the unique rock formations and colorful vegetation in Parley’s Canyon are interrupted partway through by the Harper/Kilgore Quarry gravel mine.

Open-pit mining is a complex issue that weighs environmental conservation, public health, and recreational opportunity, with a rapidly expanding downwind community and growing demand for aggregate materials. For this reason, it has been a hot topic in our area, specifically in terms of the debated Granite Construction mine expansions in Parley’s Canyon.

The Salt Lake Valley is in a geologically compromised location that already struggles with environmental and air quality issues. Upwind mining operations exacerbate these issues and pose risks to those living in the largest metropolitan area in the state.

The aggregate mining process pulverizes rock and can release toxic airborne particulates called crystalline silica, a known carcinogen associated with lung disease that can easily get pushed down the canyon and into the Salt Lake Valley by steady winds blowing through the canyon.

On top of the inhalation risks, windblown dust particles can land on nearby streams, adding both unnecessary sediment and heavy metals to the watershed. Dust can also settle on snow, decreasing the albedo and accelerating melting rates, causing further threats to winter recreators.

There has been substantial pushback to mining operations in the canyon, including over 27,000 petition signatures, legal opposition from local governments, and outcry at numerous public hearings and comment periods.

In 2022, Granite Construction’s proposal for a large-scale mine in the canyon was withdrawn, and a request to mine on a smaller, 20-acre expansion of the existing I-80 South Quarry was approved a few months later. Earlier this fall, a revised air quality permit for a 6-acre operation was also approved, and was subsequently appealed by the City of Millcreek. Additionally, some organizations are concerned that Granite Construction could operate under a small-mine permit for the time being, and eventually scale up to their originally proposed size.

As Millcreek works to appeal this permit, it is imperative that residents continue taking a stand. Residents are urged to attend hearings and participate in public comment periods to keep the unwavering public opposition to this project visible. Local pushback has been successful so far in slowing the progression of this expansion project, but this story is far from over. Though the growing demand for infrastructure is not lost on many Utahns, Parley’s Canyon is not a suitable location for an open-pit mining site. The risks are substantial, and there should never be a price tag on human or environmental health.

By Sadie Bretts

Every single day for decades, people have received receipts after making purchases. Whether it is a grocery store, retail store, or dining establishment, customers are often given a physical copy of what they spent their money on. Most of the time, people do not need these receipts, and they toss them into the recycling bin, thinking they are helping the planet by recycling paper. However, receipts have a lot more to them than just paper.

This is where most people go wrong. Many store receipts are printed on a special type of paper called thermal paper. Unlike regular paper, which uses ink to display text, thermal paper contains a chemical coating that reacts to heat, producing the words and numbers we see printed on the receipt. This coating often contains chemicals called bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol S (BPS). This coating is a toxic endocrine-disrupting substance that immediately infects the rest of the recycled material once it comes in contact with one another.

Both BPA and BPS can change the way we produce and regulate hormones, in turn impacting bodily functions such as growth, development, metabolism, and reproduction. These chemicals are concerning because they can interfere with the body’s natural hormone signals, possibly disrupting normal biological processes. Although BPA has received a lot of attention, BPS is not necessarily a safer alternative. It has also raised lots of concerns about potential hormone-related effects.

The problem does not stop with the person dealing with the receipt. When thermal paper enters the recycling process, its chemical coating can contaminate other paper materials. During paper recycling, collected paper is mixed with water and broken down into pulp. The pulp is then processed to remove unwanted materials before being turned into new paper. However, chemicals such as BPA and BPS can remain in the recycled pulp and enter the wastewater produced in the process. Research shows that BPA can survive some wastewater treatment processes and make its way into the environment, including rivers and other aquatic ecosystems. This creates another pathway for potentially harmful chemicals to reach wildlife and surrounding ecosystems.

In fact, studies have detected bisphenols in recycled paper products, demonstrating that these chemicals can move through the recycling system rather than simply disappearing. This means that recycling a receipt does not necessarily eliminate its environmental impact. It can actually introduce chemicals into materials that would otherwise be suitable for reuse.

Here are a few alternatives to recycling your receipts:

• Always choose a digital receipt emailed to you rather than a physical printed receipt.
• If you do have a physical receipt, make sure to trash it.
• Decline getting a receipt at all if you do not need to see a copy of your purchases.

By Sydney Smith

More often than not, responsibility for environmental issues is placed on the general public to fix through individual actions. This is a daunting task, especially when unsustainable choices are the most convenient or incentivized. 

While your everyday actions do have influence, it is important to consider the huge role that corporations play in creating waste. HFS Research estimates that 18 to 23 billion tons of solid waste per year is industrial, whereas consumer waste only accounts for around 2.1 billion tons. In addition, consumer waste consists of trash produced by these industries.

Corporations use strategic messaging to shift blame onto consumers. For example, the measure of one’s “carbon footprint” was originally pushed by the oil company BP. Framing excessive waste or carbon emissions as personal failures allows corporations to abandon any effort to lessen environmental impact. These industries profit off the continued production of waste and face few legal restrictions.

Making small sustainable decisions does have a hand in motivating transformation on a larger scale. Taking advantage of your power as a consumer to refrain from buying single-use items can make a significant difference when done by many. By participating in individual green choices, a sense of agency is gained that encourages environmental hope and communal action. 

Holding polluting industries accountable through collective action will drive sustainable, systemic change. Advocating for education, joining local environmental-centered groups, and supporting eco-events can be helpful when thinking about equity outside of individual choices. You don’t have to do this alone!

By Emily Quinton, Sustainability Director for Summit County

If you are a Rocky Mountain Power customer in one of 16 participating communities – including unincorporated Summit County, Oakley, Francis, and Park City – you will soon have a new choice for supporting clean energy directly on your power bill: the Community Clean Energy Program.

Rocky Mountain Power customers in participating communities will soon be automatically enrolled in the Community Clean Energy Program, with the option to opt out.

How the program will work

Nearly all Rocky Mountain Power customers in the 16 participating communities – including unincorporated Summit County, Oakley, Francis, and Park City – will be automatically enrolled with the option to opt out any time by mail, phone, or online. Customers will receive notices from Rocky Mountain Power starting in November and the participation rate will take effect starting in January 2027 (labeled “Schedule 100” on a customer’s bill). The notice will explain the cost to participate, how to opt out, the fee-free cancellation period (until May 1, 2027) and termination fee after that point.

• Residential customers will pay an additional $4 per month to participate in the Program.
• Income-qualified households enrolled in Rocky Mountain Power’s Home Electric Lifeline Program (HELP) will participate for free.
• Businesses and other non-residential customers will pay a monthly rate based on usage: $0.00609 per kWh plus a low-income surcharge of $0.12 per month.

Residential customers on Rate Schedule 135, Net Metering Service, are, by law, not allowed to be a part of the Program.

Thinking about participating? Some considerations

Investing in clean energy – like wind, solar, and other sources – can produce multiple benefits for Utah: a cleaner, healthier environment and more reliable, affordable energy. That’s why 16 communities helped form the Utah Renewable Communities to collaborate with Rocky Mountain Power to pioneer renewable energy solutions for our state. The result is the new Community Clean Energy Program.

The impact from your participation? The Community Clean Energy Program could add up to 500 megawatts over time of new clean energy to the grid in the coming years, which would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 750,000 tons annually. (Source: EPA AVERT model)

Learn more

The Community Clean Energy Program was approved by the Utah Public Service Commission in March and was subsequently adopted by the 16 participating communities. These 2026 milestones followed years of collaboration and various requirements for communities to meet to consider adopting the program. Details on the Program can be found on the Rocky Mountain Power and URC websites, including a history of URC under “About URC”.

This year marked my first official Plastic Free July as Executive Director of the Utah Recycling Alliance. As an organization, URA partnered with Salt Lake City sustainability partners to collect stretch plastics and PVC throughout the month, with single-item collection bins at the Sorenson Community Center, NeighborWorks, and Rosewood Park. The SLC Sustainability team also hosted tabling events throughout July, collecting stretch and PVC plastics while educating the public, keeping hard-to-recycle materials out of the landfill and moving them into proper recycling and circular economy channels.

On a personal level, I decided to take the challenge one step further: where possible, I would try to live a plastic-free July myself. My initial thought was honest. I knew this would be hard, given my work in recycling, but I have lived in some unique corners of the world, places with limited water, spotty electricity, and few of the conveniences we take for granted. Surely giving up single-use plastic for a month would be manageable. And to be clear, I wasn’t surprised by how much plastic is out there. Where I went wrong was in estimating how easily I could substitute eco-friendly alternatives. What proved eye-opening was the sheer challenge of avoiding plastic even with the best of intentions.

The real test came with a July road trip, starting at Flaming Gorge, winding through Lander, Wyoming with a few stops in between, and ending in the Tetons. I packed like someone determined to succeed: takeaway containers, my own silverware, a trusty coffee mug, and the reusable shopping bags that always live in my car. I expected gas stations to be a challenge, with their walls of Gatorade, bottled water, and sugary snacks, all the necessary items for a solid road trip.

What I didn’t expect was how hard the grocery stores would be, too. Hunting down powdered drink mixes in smaller packages, finding snacks not sealed in film, picking up takeout across Wyoming and realizing a bit too late that I hadn’t immediately (and awkwardly) asked the counter to use my Tupperware and glass containers. Over the course of the trip, I asked three different people where they recycled, and no one could point me to a depot or central location. I did find a glass collection center, but by day three of our eight-day trip, we were packing up all our recyclables and carrying them with us. The time and distance required to find a proper recycling location made the back of the car the easier option.

That was the surprise of the whole experience. For all the beauty of the West, keeping it pristine is not easy. In rural communities, the distances are long, the volumes are small, and access to facilities is legitimately cost-prohibitive. These communities are incredibly resourceful, but the complexity of what can and cannot be collected is far from straightforward, and the burden is real. I absolutely get it. So we did the only thing we could: we packed out our own trash, sorting what was clearly marked for glass or aluminum and carrying the rest home for proper waste management.

I came away with a more honest view of single-use plastic. I don’t expect we will ever get rid of it, but far more can be done to recycle and repurpose it. It provides a real service; hygiene, contamination control, and shelf-stable convenience matter, especially on a three-hundred-mile stretch of highway. But given the immense volume of these products moving through consumer markets every single day, the ability to reuse and recover them should be far easier than it is.

Right now, the system is built for disposal, and it is incredibly hard to opt out.

That is exactly what URA’s work is about: our collection events, our stretch plastic and PVC partnership with the Vinyl Institute, and our work with Salt Lake City Sustainability and other municipalities to divert materials from landfills and build awareness of where our everyday goods actually end up. The solutions are not imminent, but through paying attention and making active choices, we keep moving the needle toward a healthier environment, one decision at a time.

By James Flock, Executive Director of Utah Recycling Alliance

Is your business already taking steps to reduce waste, save energy or water, or make other changes that are better for the environment? Those efforts could help you earn certification — and recognition — through the Park City | Summit County Green Business Program.

The Green Business Program helps local businesses build on the sustainability efforts they already have in place — or helps them get started. Businesses earn points for completing actions that make sense for their operations and can achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold certification along the way.

What’s an example of a business sustainability action? Pair recycling bins with trash bins.

Placing recycling and trash bins together throughout your business makes it easier for employees, customers and guests to put materials in the right place. Keeping bins together can increase recycling, reduce confusion and help keep recyclable materials out of the landfill. If your business generates food waste, adding food waste collection can make an even bigger difference.

Already doing this? You may be earning points toward Green Business certification.

Not doing it yet? The Green Business Program can connect you with information and local resources to help you get started.

And that’s just one action. Businesses can earn points for reducing energy and water use, helping employees get around without a car, purchasing non-toxic cleaning products and much more.

Want to learn more? Visit parkcitygreen.org or email greenbusiness@summitcountyutah.gov.

By Emily Newcomer, Green Business Program Coordinator