Next Chapter in Summit County’s Waste Diversion Efforts Launched

Post Date:10/15/2025

Local Partners Launch Next Chapter in Summit County’s Waste Diversion Efforts  

Summit County, Utah (October 15, 2025) — Summit County, Park City, and Recycle Utah are proud to work together to ensure residents continue to have uninterrupted, accessible, and expanding options for responsible waste diversion now and in the years to come.   

Our three organizations are developing a coordinated plan for the Summer of 2026, when Recycle Utah moves out of its current location, to guarantee residents continue to have access to the recycling options they have always enjoyed.  

Included in this plan is an effort to find Recycle Utah a new home. Park City is relinquishing its rights to a 4.18-acre parcel of land in the U.S. 40 corridor specifically so Summit County and Recycle Utah can designate the property as the permanent location for Recycle Utah’s future operations. This site will allow Recycle Utah to continue operating a central drop-off and collections center, while remaining a hub for waste education, outreach, and community building. 

Looking ahead, we are exploring opportunities to make recycling more convenient than ever for more of our community. This includes launching a joint effort to “refresh” Summit County’s 2018 Solid Waste Master Plan. This process has already begun and includes creating an action agenda with new and more robust waste reduction and diversion targets, as well as strategies to achieve them. Our goal is to create a roadmap for the next 5, 10, 20 years and beyond that reflects the values of our community, adapts to changing needs, and advances long-term sustainability. 

We want residents to know that Summit County, Park City, and Recycle Utah are united in this work. We are partners committed to providing uninterrupted, accessible options for residents and visitors to reduce and recycle their waste.  

Together with the community, we will reduce and divert our waste responsibly, extend the life of our landfills, and create more opportunity for everyone who lives, works, and plays here to make a meaningful difference. 

 

### 

 


Return to full list >>

Departments » Sustainability » Regeneration

Biochar

Print
Share & Bookmark, Press Enter to show all options, press Tab go to next option
Font Size: + -

Although wildfires are a healthy part of many ecosystems in the Intermountain West, the risk from catastrophic wildfires continues to increase in communities like Park City. Years of fire suppression, coupled with a hotter and drier climate and the continued development of subdivisions close to forestlands, presents the difficult challenge of trying to protect communities while also managing fire in a way that does not exacerbate climate change.

In 2019, Park City was among eight communities to recently receive a Leader in Community Resilience Program award from the National League of Cities (NLC). The award will support the city’s work in developing a biochar program to reduce excess forest fire fuels such as brush and wood debris, and return that carbon to Park City's soils.

Biochar is a charcoal-like material that can be used in carbon sequestration efforts. It is made by burning the excess forest fuels in an oxygen-free environment. Biochar is rich in carbon and in this case, will be collected from defensible spaces, that is the natural or landscaped area around a structure that is maintained and designed to reduce fire danger. Park City held a public demonstration in May 2019 to teach the public about how biochar is made, where it can be used on the landscape, and how it can reduce fire danger locally.

The forests surrounding most structures in the community contain a lot of poor-quality lumber that has the potential to be turned into biochar. This biochar, in turn, can be applied to farm fields and open spaces.

Get in touch to learn more!