April 2026

Talking Trash with TVCR: Recycling Can Save Your Business Money!

If your business is still sending everything to the landfill, you may be missing an easy opportunity to cut costs and reduce waste. Recycling can save money! Sorted waste costs less to dispose of than mixed trash because when waste is sorted, a whole lot of it doesn’t end up being trucked to the landfill in Madison County (a costly trip). Instead it is recycled, composted, or added to the Construction & Demolition Landfill at the Transfer Station.  

Our recyclable materials have value. Companies purchase the County’s recycling, which is much better for our pocketbooks than paying the hauling and tipping fees required to get trash out of Teton County and to the landfill. Recycling also matters to your customers. Our friends and neighbors in the Tetons have a deep respect for the environment and expect businesses to act responsibly. A visible recycling program is a simple way to show your values and build trust with your clients and patrons. It also sets an example; when your business recycles, it influences employees, partners, and customers. And as we all know, recycling has real environmental benefits. It conserves natural resources, reduces pollution, and lowers impacts from the production of new materials. 

You may have a boss or employee who always says, “But it doesn’t actually get recycled.” Please explain to them that in Teton County, it does. All of our accepted materials are purchased by companies and hauled away to be made into other materials. For example, we sell our stretchy plastic to NexTrex, who uses it to build outdoor furniture and decking. These companies pay Teton County in order to take the recycling we collect. It would be a pretty awful business model for them to buy our recycling, and then pay money to dump our recycling at a landfill. Still unsure? Feel free to give TVCR a call, chat with folks at the Transfer Station, or get in touch with RAD Curbside. We’d all love to help you understand the systems that make recycling work in the Tetons. 

Are you an avid recycler? Consider asking businesses that you frequent about their recycling practices. If they hear that recycling matters to their customer base, they’re more likely to adopt the practice. 

Have questions or ideas you’d like to see explored in this column? Email us at info@tetonrecycling.org with your thoughts!