Spring brings no reprieve to Pitkin County Public Works director

For some in the Roaring Fork Valley, the end of winter and the start of off-season brings a break from their jobs and some potential time off. Restaurants close, schools end, and seasonal jobs go on hiatus. 

But for Brian Pettet, director of Public Works at Pitkin County, the spring shoulder season is never a reprieve from work. 

“Springtime is actually one of our busier times,” said Pettet. “We’re ramping up all of our capital improvements, and we’re shifting gears from a winter maintenance schedule to a summertime maintenance schedule.”

One of Public Works’ responsibilities is managing the Pitkin County Solid Waste Center, a hub for that spring rush. 

“In the winter time, there’s not a lot of construction activity or landscaping going on, and those are big users in the landfill.” he said. “Two weeks ago, when we had the warm spell, we saw the landfill go from sleepy to ramped up, approaching the 380 vehicles a day that it sees in the summer.”

He also carefully clarified that the colloquial term “dump” used by some in Pitkin County to describe the landfill is wrong; it’s an engineered sanitary landfill. 

“If you say ‘dump,’ then you gotta pay a dollar,” he joked.

The landfill received more than 61,000 tons of waste delivered to it in 2024, the majority coming from commercial sources — 52% of the waste brought to the landfill came from construction and demolition projects, with an additional 17% coming from landscaping projects. 

The waste brought in from private individuals, “mom and pops” according to Pettet, is meager by comparison. It does, however, increase in the springtime along with the increase in commercial drop-offs. As people move out or do their spring cleaning, that waste is often brought to the landfill on Saturday mornings after the weather heats up. 

About 43% of that waste and commercial waste is diverted for other uses before it can end up in the landfill’s deposits. 

Metals are brought to a recycler where they are sorted and recycled. Tires are diverted and shredded to use as a material cover for piles of waste in the landfill. Food waste is ground up and sold back to the community as top soil, potting soil, and compost for gardens and plants. Couches and homegoods that are still usable are put into the Motherlode Mercantile — a store at the entrance of the landfill where Pitkin county residents and visitors can buy used goods at steep discounts. 

Even the Mercantile itself sees continued visitation during the spring shoulder season, with people still interested in getting new things for their apartments and homes.