County residents who use the Waste and Recovery Center in Lacey should make sure they bring their photo ID along with their trash and yard waste. Staff at the center, or WARC, have already begun asking for ID, and ID will be mandatory starting Monday, September 1.
“Doing the ID check is something we’ve wanted to do for a while, and we think this will really help us improve our accuracy and efficiency at the WARC, along with security and safety,” said Scott Schimelfenig, Utilities Operations Manager with the county’s Public Works department, which includes the Solid Waste Division.
WARC customers have several options for ID that will be accepted, including:
–along WITH–
WARC staffers say linking customers’ IDs with the scale scan cards the WARC uses will make it easier to track and contact customers who either don’t pay the full amount for the disposal of their waste, or who fail to pay at all.
“Folks leaving without paying, it happens more often than people think, and certainly more often than we’d like,” said Judy Parrish, the Tollhouse Supervisor for the WARC. “Doing the ID check will make it much easier for us to track payment issues. It’s going to really cut down on staff work that’s needed to track people down for payment.
The ID check will not be used at the county’s other waste facilities in Rochester and Rainier. The WARC facility is the only one where payment is due after you dump instead of before entering.
“As we phase in the changes, we know some customers will be caught off guard by it and wonder if the extra step is necessary, but in the long run we know our customers will benefit from the more accurate and secure payment process, and a more secure facility,” said Parrish.
The Thurston County Waste and Recovery Center is located on Hogum Bay Road in the Hawks Prairie area of Lacey. County residents can dispose of garbage, yard waste, recyclables and household hazardous waste such as paint and cleaning supplies. The WARC is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about the county’s Waste and Recovery Center, visit www.thurstonsolidwaste.org/WARC, or contact the Thurston County Solid Waste staff at (360) 867-2491 or ThurstonSolidWaste@co.thurston.wa.us.
