Mission

Ravalli County Recycling (RCR) is a Montana nonprofit corporation that strives to provide and promote recycling services within Ravalli County. RCR has the following purposes:

  1. Public education about reducing, reusing and recycling.

  2. Development and implementation of recycling in Ravalli County, including cooperation with and mutual support for private and public recycling participants. 

  3. Establishment of partnerships with local and regional governments and other entities to find and implement solutions to waste problems.  

For more information on recycling related subjects, we recommend you visit the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

Recycling in the Bitterroot

The Bitterroot Valley is relatively isolated, within a geographically large state, with a low population density.  We have an approximate population in Ravalli County of 45,000 people. Anything not recycled by the people living in the valley is trucked by the garbage company, Bitterroot Disposal, to their transfer station south of Victor.  And from there, trucked to another part of Montana.

According to the Official State Website, Montana.gov, Montanans currently recycle about 19 percent of waste generated within the State. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 75% of the American waste stream is recyclable. Nationally, Americans recycle about 30% of their waste.

Within the Bitterroot Valley we have few recycling resources due to several factors, including our physical location surrounded by mountain ranges, and the economic reality that has made it uneconomical for Bitterroot Disposal to offer a recycling option with their trash collection.

Ravalli County Recycling has evolved during its 20 year history to attempt to fill the recycling void.  Currently we have no permanent physical site at which to accept recyclables. We hold glass recycling events three times a year at the Ravalli County Fairgrounds. 

We encourage commercial recycling, specifically cardboard recycling provided by C2C Cardboard Recycling who hold collections on the second Saturday of the month for the general public (also at the Fairgrounds), and business cardboard recycling by arrangement.  

It is an important part of our mission to educate about recycling.  Through our collaboration with Recycling Works in Missoula, ( https://recyclingworksmt.com ) we give back to local schools with donations to recycling based programs involving students.

As part of our education program, we offer local residents a comprehensive list of what can be recycled and where.  Many of the resources we list are in Missoula.

We look forward to seeing you at our events. Check our home page for a current list of events.