A smart move for the county

Flathead Industries and the Flathead County Solid Waste District Board should be lauded for their well-intentioned pilot program aimed at diverting useful items left at the Colulmbia Falls garbage container site from the county landfill to local thrift stores.

Everyone knows that one person’s unwanted items may not be junk at all to someone else, and there should be an opportunity for a reputable organization like Flathead Industries to collect and sell those items at its thrift stores, with proceeds going toward programs for people with disabilities.

For the Solid Waste District Board, the goal is to reduce the volume of waste going to the landfill, and it seems this program should help, especially if it is deemed successful and expanded to other green box sites.

Flathead Industries will set up a panel truck at the Columbia Falls site 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays with personnel to screen unwanted items and to hand out donation receipts for tax purposes.

The idea is also aimed at making things more convenient for people who have items they want to donate, by sparing them a drop-off to the store. It’s all so simple, it just might work.

Interesting, however, is the fact that a ban on scavenging at the Columbia Falls site that was imposed about six weeks ago has not produced a noticeable increase in the amount of waste going to the landfill. Don’t know what to make of that, but it suggests that the amount of material being previously scavenged and now recycled is not all that great.

In any case, congratulations to the county for coming up with an alternative to just wasting valuable resources, and good luck to Flathead Industries on its new venture.

All in all, this pilot program looks like a keeper.