Bonner County recently wrapped up work on the Solid Waste Colburn Facility, more commonly known as the Colburn Culver Dump, after more than two years of renovations. The $6.5 million improvements redesigned the dump鈥檚 layout to accommodate increasing amounts of trash and prevent traffic jams in and out of the site.
鈥淭he old site design was over 30 years old, and it was first built for a five-year life expectancy,鈥� Solid Waste Director Bob Howard told the Reader. 鈥淚t was showing its age and was too small for the volumes of trash we handle.鈥�
When the dump was built in the mid-1990s, Bonner County generated approximately 19,300 tons of municipal solid waste. By 2020, that number had skyrocketed to 45,307 tons, outweighing the national average per capita generation rate, overwhelming the county鈥檚 facilities and pushing the county Solid Waste Department to begin expansion plans.