Those who use the Enumclaw Transfer Station to get rid of recyclables will have to find other options beginning Feb. 1.

The county’s Solid Waste Division has announced it will shut down the recycling operation at Enumclaw and three other facilities. The step is being taken for two reasons: first, to save money; also, the county points out nearly all county residents have recyclables picked up as part of their normal garbage-disposal service.

Until Feb. 1, Enumclaw’s transfer station on Battersby Avenue will continue to accept – without charge – aluminum cans, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, mixed paper, newspaper, plastic bottles and jugs and tin cans.

Information provided by the county states the recycling effort at transfer stations “unnecessarily duplicates a service that is already available to 99 percent of King County resident through curbside collection.”

The curbside model, it is stated, is responsible for the collection of more than 115,000 tons of recyclables annually throughout the county; recyclables taken to transfer stations total about 4,000 tons.

Those wanting to continue hauling their own recyclables are being given a list of six options. The closest of the six is nearly 16 miles away in Auburn while the longest trip is the 24-mile jaunt to a facility in Kent. After Feb. 1, recyclables taken to the Enumclaw transfer station will be treated as trash and a fee will be collected for their disposal.