Voters Approve New Chittenden Solid Waste District Recycling Center

Chittenden Solid Waste District facility in Williston Credit: Oliver Parini

Chittenden County voters on Tuesday approved a new recycling center in Williston.

The Chittenden Solid Waste District, which was seeking approval to borrow $22 million to build a replacement for its aging facility, reported that more than 80 percent of voters favored the measure.

The vote positions the district to significantly improve its recycling efforts. Its building, called a materials recovery facility, is a nearly windowless metal structure in a Williston industrial park where workers and machines sort all the glass, plastic, paper and metal people throw in their blue bins.

The facility handles 55 percent of all such recycling in the state, but officials say it’s too old to be updated with modern sorting equipment.

The district plans a new, larger $26 million facility on land it owns about two miles from the existing one. It plans to repay the bonds over 25 years out of revenue from the sale of recycled material.

Unlike the general election ballots, which were mailed to all active voters, the special election ballots were only mailed to voters who requested one. They were also made available to those who voted in person at a polling place.