Haines residents will have a new way to get rid of unwanted vehicles, two years after the borough's junk car program was put on hold.

The Haines Borough hopes to process junked cars at the Community Waste Solutions landfill in the coming year, a departure from a previous system of storing and processing cars at the borough’s public works yard.

According to the borough director of public facilities Ed Coffland, the old system wasn’t sustainable because the yard wasn’t big enough and public works employees were overwhelmed with other tasks.

This year, the borough hopes to hire a contractor. Borough manager Annette Kreitzer said in an email this week that the borough will put out bids for a contractor to prepare a site and get as many as 500 junked cars ready for shipment.

At the June 13 assembly meeting, Kreitzer said bids would be due on June 29. The Borough’s payment to the contractor will not be determined until bids are received.

Coffland hopes hiring a contractor will make the process more efficient. The borough will store junk cars at the landfill until enough are collected to merit bringing a barge to take them south.

“If we are hiring a barge, we want to make it worthwhile,” he said.

According to Kreitzer, the borough is working with the State of Alaska to acquire a parcel closer to Lutak Dock which would lower the cost of future programs. “But the state’s process for that is a slow one,” she said.

For now, residents with cars to get rid of should take them to the landfill. Cars with titles get priority.

Haines motorists currently pay a $22 registration tax on vehicles that goes toward the impounding and removal of junk cars. The tax covers part of the cost of removing fluids, batteries, tires of vehicles as well as the transportation to the barge and recycling plant. The rest of the costs are covered by the borough and residents.

In 2019, the processing fee was $50. The borough has not worked out a processing fee for the service this year. Kreitzer said more information would be available at the end of the month.