Ferndale facility shows similarities, differences to Deluxe

Comparing the operations of Recycling and Disposal Service, Inc. (RDS), in Ferndale and the proposed Deluxe Recycling and Disposal facility in Sedro-Woolley is apples to oranges.

RDS, owned by Larry McCarter, spreads across 8 acres and serves as a recycling and solid waste transfer facility. Part of the operation occurs under a 4,800-square-foot building while other recycling receptacles are spread across the property.

McCarter said the Ferndale site needs more room and if he had the opportunity to do it all over again he would construct a bigger building.

“We are doing it over again,” he said. “In Sedro-Woolley.”

Compared to the Ferndale site, Deluxe will sit on 12 acres and serve as a recycle facility for the time being. All of its operations will instead occur inside a 30,000-square-foot building that will house a conveyor system to sort through recyclables.

RDS in Ferndale has been in business since 1996 and is one of two private businesses handling Whatcom County’s solid waste, said Iris Newman, general manager of RDS. Each day about 14 trailers holding between 23 to 28 tons of solid waste are shipped from RDS to a landfill in Arlington, Ore.

The company also handles recyclable material like paper, aluminum, metal, yard waste, wood and electronic waste.

Recyclables are hauled to other businesses that reuse the material. Wood chips are reused for energy in Everett and yard waste is composted in Lynden.

Newman said to keep the facility maintained, employees are constantly cleaning. In Whatcom County, drop-in inspections from the health department are common.

“Nothing stays here,” Newman said. “We keep it that way.”

Several other businesses neighboring the facility include an animal rendering plant, a metal products company, Whatcom County’s solid waste transfer facility and a Frito Lay storage business. About 200 yards away is a small established residential neighborhood. A developer is also building more than 30 homes in the vicinity. 

In Sedro-Woolley, Deluxe’s neighbors will be a high school and a residential neighborhood.

Smells and noise from RDS are not a problem for employees at Yellow Cab in Ferndale, said Deb Logan, operations manager at the taxi company. Yellow Cab is located about 200 yards from the recycling facility. The employees often smell the rendering plant, but haven’t had the same complaints about the recycling and transfer station.

Ian Bakke of All American Metal, located next door to RDS, said the recycling facility doesn’t smell, but the county’s solid waste facility did. Noise isn’t too big of a problem, but they do get an early start in the morning, he said. Most of the noise comes from the other neighboring businesses, Bakke added.

To reduce dust and noise, Bakke said the company planted large trees to mitigate the disturbance, and it has worked well to reduce those factors.

“(RDS) have been really good neighbors,” he said.

McCarter said in Sedro-Woolley he plans to create a forested area and earthen berm to disguise the facility and reduce noise. He said he has also thought about building a jogging path on the property for the community to use.

Besides trying to be good neighbors in Ferndale, and eventually in Sedro-Woolley, Newman said the Ferndale company contributes to school districts and other organizations in Whatcom County.

“Our biggest involvement (in the community) are donations to school districts,” she said.

The company contributes to the school districts with cash contributions and other donations, Newman said. The company has donated to the Mount Baker, Blaine, Bellingham and Ferndale school districts, she said, among other community organizations.

That’s how the company keeps the community happy, Newman said, “there are a lot of good causes out there.”

McCarter said he plans to do the same in the Sedro-Woolley community. There are also plans to try and incorporate high school students into the business by creating an educational opportunity with Sedro-Woolley High School.

Students could gain hands-on experience with maintenance and operations, clerical duties and other real-world occupations, McCarter said. It’s a way to make having the recycling facility close to the high school a positive experience, he said.

Several students from Ferndale High School are participating in internships at RDS, he said.

Besides contributing to the school district, McCarter said Deluxe will also benefit the city of Sedro-Woolley by enhancing the city’s budget.

In Ferndale, RDS contributes about $80,000 each month in utility tax to the city, which is used to build and repair streets, lights and other parts of the infrastructure, he said. Deluxe will do the same for the city of Sedro-Woolley.

Newman said it’s a great taxpaying revenue and has increased the tax base for Ferndale. The community of Sedro-Woolley has to have faith that the business will be handled the way Deluxe officials said it will, she said.

“People just need to be open minded,” she said. “Don’t assume and ask questions.”

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