New garbage and recycling station set to open

East County location will keep commercial traffic separate from public in hope of improving safety.

LeMay is set to open its new multimillion-dollar transfer station behind the National Guard armory on Clemons Road North, just west of Montesano.

The first day of operation for the new station is Aug. 1 at 29 Gavett Lane.

Services moving to the new location include garbage, recycling and electronic waste drop-off. The main office and hazardous waste disposal will remain at the current transfer station, at 4201 Olympic Highway in Aberdeen.

“The main thing that we looked at in this new facility was keeping the public and commercial traffic separated,” said Roger Swalander, site manager for LeMay’s Grays Harbor.

The scale at the current transfer station will be moved after the new facility opens Aug. 1. Swalander says it will take about a month to move the scale into the new facility. During that time, both public and commercial traffic will use the same scale.

“Traffic flow was not adequate at the old station, he said. But the flow should be better at the new station because it is not on the highway.

Care also was taken in the design of the 12,000-square-foot building, where trash will be deposited, and how the station would impact nearby landowners.

“We’re very conscious of the neighbors’ concerns about wind-blown debris, noise,” Swalander said. “Nobody wants a transfer station in their backyard. We can close a couple doors to keep things from blowing around. The building also keeps the rainwater out of the garbage.”

The building has eight 26-foot-tall by 22-foot-wide garage-style doors (four on both the public and commercial sides) for traffic to come through. If somebody needs to drop off something taller then 26 feet, Swalander says, then they have a plan for that.

The same number of people should still be working at the station, about five to seven at any time.

The hours will remain the same.

Workers at the new LeMay’s Grays Harbor Transfer Station will use this loader to move material left by Grays Harbor residents at the station onto trucks bound for Wasco County, Oregon. The new transfer station opens Aug. 1 at 29 Gavett Lane west of Montesano near the National Guard Armory on Clemons Road. (Photo take Friday, July 12, 2019, by Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)

Workers at the new LeMay’s Grays Harbor Transfer Station will use this loader to move material left by Grays Harbor residents at the station onto trucks bound for Wasco County, Oregon. The new transfer station opens Aug. 1 at 29 Gavett Lane west of Montesano near the National Guard Armory on Clemons Road. (Photo take Friday, July 12, 2019, by Michael Lang | Grays Harbor News Group)