STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Last November, Eagle Valley resident Matt Donovan brought TossBox to Steamboat Springs, offering locals and visitors another option when it comes to trash disposal in the Yampa Valley.

“You won’t find this anywhere else in the country. This is a brand new idea,” said Donovan, who worked in the waste removal business for 20 years before starting TossBox. “Vail and Keystone were our first locations last spring a year ago, and in the fall, we added Steamboat and Edwards, and we recently added Avon. We are looking for more locations in the central Rockies.”

There are currently two TossBox locations in Steamboat Springs at both Mountain View Car Wash locations — one at 583 S. Lincoln Ave. on the east side of town and another at 1739 Lincoln Ave. on the west side.

Donovan said the service is ideal for small households that don’t generate a lot of waste, as well as second homeowners and visitors who may be taking advantage of a short-term rental unit and don’t want to pay the added trash fees.

Additionally, the service could appeal to people who are camping or visiting in an RV, or the “professional” recycler who has reduced their waste to a level that doesn’t require regular service.

“It’s a trash compactor that’s operated with a credit card swipe,” Donovan said. “After you swipe the credit card, the panel retracts and you’re allowed to open the door. Then you can throw in about four standard 13 gallon kitchen size bags. Then you close the door, and it compacts automatically, and off you go.”

The cost is $5.95 a cycle, and when one of the units is full, Donovan gets a message on his computer and calls a local trash service to come pick up the trash at the TossBox location.

The Vail resident started the service in spring 2021 and expanded into Steamboat Springs last November. He said the carwash locations provide a nice open area where it is easy for people to drive in and drop off their trash no matter the time of day.

“It’s a reverse vending machine, so anytime — it’s open 24 hours, weekends, holidays,” Donovan said. “Whenever you have a bag of trash and you need to get rid of it, it’s available.”

Donovan said he sees a need for this type of service and believes that TossBox provides an alternative for regular trash service.

“There’s a sustainability piece where you can change your habits and drop off trash on your errand schedule,” Donovan said. “You don’t have to pay a trash truck that gets eight miles to the gallon to come by your house when you don’t even have a full trash can. It’s great for the small household that doesn’t have much trash, or a single household.”

This story is from SteamboatPilot.com.