• After 35 years of serving Park City and Summit County, Recycle Utah is facing a critical turning point. We’ve been asked to leave our current site by September 1, 2026, and will cease recycling operations on June 30, 2026. As of today, no new location has been secured. Without swift action, Summit County may have no residential recycling drop-off after July 1, 2026.

• In 2024, we worked with national experts to design a modern facility that would help our community meet its diversion goals. That plan remains the best long-term solution. However, because Summit County and Park City are not yet ready to fund that investment, we are willing to move to a smaller, interim site to keep vital services running. While not ideal, if properly executed, this could double our current 12% diversion rate and preserve access to local recycling.

• Recycle Utah is a nonprofit organization with 35 years of experience operating recycling infrastructure. Just as we currently manage day-to-day operations out of a city-owned and built facility, our role is to operate the site—not to fund or construct public waste infrastructure. In communities across the country, recycling facilities are publicly funded and owned. The responsibility to act lies with local government.

• We need your voice. Please contact your elected officials and urge them to:
  • Take immediate steps to identify and fund an interim recycling facility
  • Commit to building the long-term facility our growing community needs

• Recycle Utah needs a new home. Our current 0.4-acre lot is too small to adequately manage our community’s waste, and we have been told to vacate our current site by September 2026. To continue providing essential recycling services for the community, we need a new facility on Lot 4 of the Gillmor parcel. This new facility will continue to offer commercial and residential drop-off, and has the potential to double our current 12% diversion rate.
• As a nonprofit, Recycle Utah cannot fund the construction of this facility. Across the country, recycling infrastructure is funded and owned by municipal governments, and we believe Summit County and Park City should do the same. We urge both governments to commit to fully funding and constructing a new facility as soon as possible.

Summit County and Park City Municipal have offered Recycle Utah 4 acres of land on Lot 4 of the Gillmor Parcel. Recycle Utah will readily accept the land offer once the funding for the facility’s construction has been agreed upon between Summit County and Park City.  

• We have been asked to leave our current site and will be ceasing our diversion operations by June 30th, 2026. We’re actively working with the City and the County to try and find an alternative plan to meet our community’s waste diversion needs. 
• The City and County have offered Recycle Utah 4 acres of land on Lot 4 of the Gillmor parcel; however, there is no current plan for how a new facility’s construction will be paid for. Across the country, recycling facilities are funded by municipal governments. As a nonprofit, Recycle Utah does not have the funding to construct a new facility. As of August 2025, no formal plans for the construction of this facility have been confirmed.
• We are acutely aware that the June 2026 “end operations” date will come around very quickly and are working to emphasize the importance of all parties confirming a permanent recycling solution as soon as possible. This is the only way to achieve the ambitious sustainability and economic goals our residents, our businesses, the City, and the County have advocated for year-on-year.
• We now have an opportunity to bring together our committed teams and create a recycling facility worthy of our sustainability-minded, economically savvy community. We would welcome you, our community, adding your voice to this effort. Please take 5 minutes to write to the City and County to share your support.

Without a new facility, our community cannot meet Park City’s Zero Waste by 2030 goal, or the high sustainability standards set by Summit County, the Park City Chamber, and other local leaders.

Recycle Utah currently diverts over 3.5 million pounds of material each year. Failing to act now means that this material will end up in our already stressed landfill system, contaminate water, and waste natural resources that could be recycled.

If we don’t invest in diversion infrastructure now, the long-term financial burden will be steep. Summit County projects Three Mile Canyon landfill will reach capacity by 2053. After that, it will cost an additional $100 per ton to haul waste elsewhere—adding up to $8–10 million annually.

If Recycle Utah loses its site after June 30, 2026, we’ll no longer be able to process the 3.5 million pounds of recyclables we currently handle each year. Local governments would need to absorb and fund this service, which currently costs us $450,000/year. Presently, the City and County contribute a total of $175,000/year toward both education and materials collection combined.

Yes! Just like today, the new site will accept 45+ materials from residents at no cost. It will complement curbside pickup by offering recycling for items not accepted in standard bins. Improved features like better parking and a central location will make the facility more accessible to a larger portion of County residents.

Yes! The facility will include infrastructure to support business recycling needs.

Yes! Plans for the new site include food waste collection to meet our community’s sustainability goals.

We need your support. Sign on, write to your City and County officials, attend local meetings, and spread the word.