You might not think of a slightly rusted and battle-scarred 1994 backhoe as anybody’s dream machine. But as far as Neil Hanson is concerned, the trusty yellow John Deere 310D backhoe – a familiar sight to Lopez Dump patrons – is  perfect for the job.

“If we were writing specs for this application, this is exactly the machine we would ask for,” says Hanson, long-time overseer of the Lopez solid waste and recycling facility,

This perfect backhoe will be the object of a community fundraising drive launched this month by SWAP, the nonprofit organization that supports the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District. Currently on loan from San Juan County, the backhoe must be purchased by the district by the end of the year, thanks to a change in county policy that axed an earlier six-year financing package. That translates to coming up with the $10,128 purchase price by December 31.

The campaign organizers anticipate the Lopez public will want to chip in to pay for the nimble machine that can lift, tote, scrape, drag and, most importantly, compress the island’s discards.

“We compact garbage and recyclables to achieve a maximum load limit,” says Hanson. “It makes our transportation as efficient as possible.”

Hanson and fellow employee Bob Chonka also use the backhoe as a “giant wheelbarrow” to ferry materials around the site and as a ram to tamp metals “so we’re not losing materials on Highway 20 between here and our market.”

Hanson takes special delight in the features that make this particular backhoe a good match for the Lopez situation, such as the back boom that extends with a foot pedal “so we can reach deep within a roll-off box and crush something large,” and solid rubber tires, impervious to nails and bits of metal that routinely flattened pneumatic tires on previous machines. Oh, and the comfy all-weather cab comes in handy, too.

SWAP will kick off the “Buy the Backhoe!” drive this month with collection jars at their booth at the Farmers’ Market and a huge thermometer sign at the Dump to track the fundraising progress.  Lopezians can look forward to several backhoe-themed activities before the December deadline, including a July 4 parade entry and, the campaign centerpiece, a festive “Backhoe Hoedown” at Lopez Center on Sept. 29 with music, dancing, and a chili feed.

Watch for details at www.lopezsolidwaste.org.