Customers of the Lopez Dump and Take-It-Or-Leave-It will see a change in hours and fees starting in January when the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District takes over operation of the Lopez Solid Waste and Recycling Center. From Sept. 16 to May 14, the facility will be open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 3 p.m. During the busy season, May 15 to Sept. 15, the hours will increase to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The district’s intent is to better match the Dump hours with the volume of customers, to provide better access to the Dump without increasing costs.

Along with the changed hours, customers will experience lower rates. The LSWDD managing board previously committed to an $8/can garbage disposal fee and free recycling for clean, source-separated recyclables. Commingled recyclables will continue to be accepted as well, for a fee.

The San Juan County Council formed the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District in June. The five-member managing board of Lopez residents has been meeting every two weeks to work through the operational details necessary to take over the facility from the county in January 2013, including negotiating site and equipment leases, identifying markets for recyclables, and finalizing a budget. The details of the budget will depend upon the results of Lopez Proposition No. 1, the Solid Waste Levy measure appearing on the November 6 ballot. A YES vote on Proposition No. 1 will fund a one-year levy to augment revenues from disposal fees and sale of recyclables and pay for approximately one-third of district expenses for 2013.

The LSWDD will operate the Dump in tandem with the county during the transitional month of December and will take over the facility in January. A Grand Opening celebration is being planned for Saturday, Jan. 5.

Additional details about the district program can be found in a recently published brochure available at the Dump and at www.lopezsolidwaste.org.