LAYTON — Davis County residents who are itching to recycle but haven't persuaded their cities to implement a curbside program will have the option to recycle in early 2010.

And they can do it at a place they're already used to taking waste: the Layton landfill.

The landfill's owner, the Wasatch Integrated Waste Management District, broke ground Wednesday for a $1.1 million recycling drop-off center, which will be designed to accept various recyclable materials and bundle them to be sold.

Nathan Rich, the district's executive director and chief executive, said its current recycling program consists of large blue bins throughout the district, which includes cities in Davis and Morgan counties.

But Rich called the bin program expensive and inefficient because recyclables aren't compressed and bundled.

The new building will have the capability of bailing cardboard and other materials so that recyclers, such as Waste Management and Rocky Mountain Recycling, can buy the products and get them turned into new products.

Materials for the 6,000-square-foot building will consist of up to 70 percent recycled steel. The building will be heated by combustible landfill gas and is designed to handle 3,000 to 4,000 tons of waste per year.

And it will be available for area businesses to bring their recyclable waste, as well.

"It's not a panacea for all our solid-waste issues," Rich said. "It's an important piece to our integrated approach to solid-waste management."

The district operates a landfill, a waste incinerator that produces steam and electricity, a green-waste center and household hazardous waste drop-off area.

The new building will be located at the Layton landfill, but patrons won't be charged for its service.

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