Recycling Center to help collect food for needy

The Greene County Recycling Center is now a drop-off location for non-perishable and canned food goods that will be distributed to several area food bank facilities.

Erek Wilson, who serves as supervisor of the Greene County Solid Waste Management District, presented the plan to his board of directors Tuesday morning.

The board liked the idea and told Wilson to move forward.

Wilson said he thinks it will be a good outreach to help needy individuals and will also get more people to stop by the Recycling Center and find out about the services that are offered.

The director said the idea blossomed from a project that was started just before the recent Christmas holiday that saw a good response from the public to a food drive effort that benefited the Linton Community Food Pantry in Linton.

Initially, Wilson entertained the idea of actually starting a food bank on site at the recycling center, but board members felt more good could be done if the center served as a drop off site only -- leaving the client screening process and the distribution to the "already established" area food banks.

Wilson also told the board that he would like to begin accepting leftover building materials and paint that could then be donated to the local Habitat for Humanity to assist with its building projects.

"I've got an area in the back of the center that is pretty good sized room for storage. We were thinking about talking to some of the lumber yards or doing some kind of advertising and making as part of our facility an actual drop off for leftover building supplies that would then to go Habitat for Humanity to help them out," Wilson said. "We get paint every day."

Board member Hal Harp interjected, "That is better than them going into the landfill if they are going to throw them away."

In other action, the board re-appointed Harp, of Worthington, to serve as president for the coming year. Harp also serves as president of the Worthington Town Council.

Harp commented that he liked what he is seeing from and hearing about the new district supervisor, who began his duties in October.

"I like what is going on with the way things are going. I think Erek is doing a good job since he's taken over. I like what I've heard and seen a lot of publicity," Harp said.

In other matters, Wilson presented a tonnage and revenue report for the calendar year 2008 that showed $73,224.85 had been generated by the sale of 599.9 tons of newsprint, cardboard, magazines, clothes, aluminum cans and combo material (paper and plastics).

The figures includes 255.36 tons of cardboard that raised $28,742.90.

Wilson cautioned that the market price for cardboard has dropped drastically in the last year.

A year ago, the Recycling Center was receiving about $90 a ton for cardboard. Currently, the price has dipped to $20 a ton, he said.

"Obviously with the markets being down there were some shipments that we didn't make toward the end of the year. We are kind of warehousing materials in hopes that the markets come back up," Wilson said.

He pointed out that in 2007, cardboard sales generated about $40,000, but dropped to $28,000 this year (2008). The rest of the numbers are almost identical to what the Recycling Center did in 2007.

Wilson reported that the volume of materials at satellite recycling drop off site at the SonShine Shop in Worthington and the mobile recycling trailer, which has been placed at various locations is encouraging.

He said the SonShine Shop is averaging about 700 pounds of materials a week.

The trailer has been placed in Little Cincinnati, Linton, Jasonville, Lyons and Bloomfield and is being utilized.

He announced that the trailer will be placed in Owensburg starting today (Wednesday) and will be moved to Eastern Greene School for a week-long period starting Jan. 14.

Wilson said, "It's working out really good."

He says there has been little abuse.

"They are doing really good. We have not had any trash in it," he told the board.

The SWMD director said he wants to hold off on purchasing a second mobile recycling trailer for about six months in hopes that that the market prices will pick up.

He hopes to soon have a couple of roll-off bins placed at the Recycling Center and will be accepting glass products for recycling in the near future.

Wilson has also developed a market to sell e-Waste -- electronic scrap -- something he's been trying to do for several months.