Recycle Utah hires new executive director, moves forward on offer to relocate to 4-acre parcel off US-40

Recycle Utah provides many community services, including regular HazMat collection days. Photo: Courtesy of Recycle Utah

PARK CITY, Utah — Recycle Utah is in the midst of major transitions. Since they were given notice to vacate their current location by Sept. 1, 2026, Summit County has offered Recycle Utah a roughly 4-acre parcel off US-40. They are also looking for a new executive director after their previous executive director, Carolyn Wawra, stepped down due to health reasons.

Andy Hecht as New Executive Director

Recycle Utah announced Friday that Andy Hecht has been selected as the organization’s next executive director, beginning January 1, 2026. Hecht was chosen from a highly qualified pool of local candidates, according to a statement.

Hecht currently serves as climate fund manager at the Park City Community Foundation, where he leads community partnerships to expand food-waste diversion. “I’m honored to join Recycle Utah at such a pivotal moment,” Hecht said. “This organization has been a trusted environmental leader for decades, and I’m excited to help build on that legacy.”

Recycle Utah Board Chair Ken Barfield highlighted Hecht’s leadership and community experience. “We’re thrilled to welcome Andy as our new executive director,” he said. “He brings strong nonprofit expertise and a proven ability to build teams. Andy will guide Recycle Utah through our upcoming relocation after 35 years in our current facility, and our community is fortunate to have him at the helm.”

At Recycle Utah’s Live PC Give PC event, Chelsea Hafer, community outreach manager of Recycle Utah, said that over 60 percent of Recycle Utah’s operating budget comes from community donations every year. “We are very much a grassroots organization,” she said. “We rely on your donations to keep us going, to keep our recycling operations, to keep our environmental education programs, our community outreach programs going all year.”

Planning for a new facility is well underway

Summit County has offered a roughly 4-acre parcel off US-40 near Home Depot to Recycle Utah as a home for their new facility. This parcel is about 10 times as large as their current location on Woodbine Way. With an increase in space, they are hoping to accept food waste on a larger scale at the new facility, as well as expand its services in general.

According to Barfield the building projects are moving along very rapidly. “We’re not building the Taj Mahal,” he said. “We know exactly who we are and what we are to this community, and we want to honor, value the people, who have offered financial support.”

At this point Recycle Utah is hoping to have signed agreements with Summit County in December. They are working on building plans for the lot with an architect and developer, determining what type of remediation will be required for the lot.