After months of protest from neighbors, recycling bins on McHugh Lane will be moved Aug. 11, the city of Helena reported.
“I’m surprised it took a year to get anything done,” Josh Van Dyke, who lives near the recycling bins, said.
Signs were put up to help transition recyclers to new locations, complete with QR codes, contact information, and a map.
“Instead of going out there and yanking them all out the next day, without any public notice,” public works director Ryan Leland told Helena City Commission on July 10, “whoever uses that drop off location, give them 30 days.”
Signs were installed around the McHugh Lane recycling bins after the city of Helena moved to remove them.
The recycling bin removal comes after months of back-and-forth between some neighbors of the recycling bins and the county, led by resident Kelly Van Dyke. Complaints started after the recycling bins appeared in June 2023, husband Josh Van Dyke said.
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The noise and lights of people dropping off recycling disturb the area near McHugh Lane and Wolf Road, said Kelly Van Dyke, and the cardboard and recyclables would fly into neighborhood yards.
Because the bin fell under both city and county purview — being located on private county grounds but affecting people who live in city limits — Kelly Van Dyke attended city and county meetings to comment about the bin. She said she was met with very mixed results.
Some commissioners, especially from the city’s half, were sympathetic. Others were less concerned, and there was skepticism on how many people were actually upset with the recycling bins. One person who said he was a nearby resident spoke at a meeting that he found having trash bins at that location to be convenient.
Leland announced the transition plan July 10, and signs were put up shortly after. Kelly and Josh Van Dyke heard from City Commissioner Sean Logan and Mayor Wilmot Collins, and they were relieved, Josh Van Dyke said.
Kelly Van Dyke is expected to meet with city officials next week to talk about the transition, he said.
People involved in the recycling program can drop off their materials at:
- Safeway – 611 N Montana Ave
- Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds – 98 W. Custer Ave.
- Boeing – 3200 Skyway Drive, just past the Airport.
- Across from Dale Harris Park (Dale Harris Park Address is 279 S. Cruse Ave.)
- Grub Stake – 1450 Lincoln Road West
- Canyon Ferry Mini-Basket – 3012 Canyon Ferry Road
- Laib-Ation Station – 410 Lincoln Road
- Transfer Station – 1975 N Benton Ave.
Christine Compton is a reporter for the Helena Independent Record.
