Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — The recycling center on Columbus Road in Mount Vernon took in more than 3 million pounds of material last year, and business continues to increase, according to current estimates.

Rick Bonette, assistant manager at the recycling center, estimates the facility sees 120 to 150 drive-through customers every day.

“Most of [the customers] greatly appreciate the facility being here,” said Bonette.

Bonette, who has worked at the recycling center since it opened in 2000, believes higher gas prices are driving an increase in customers utilizing the facility.

“Our business has quadrupled since the rising gas prices,” he said, noting the recycling center buys metals other than steel. “We’re doing a tremendous business with that.”

Recycling of plastics, paper, cardboard, glass and cans is also high.

“Our home recyclers haven’t disappeared ... I think last year we did over 3 million pounds of home recyclables alone,” said Bonette.

The Knox County Recycling Center is open for drive-through service from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The drop-off area outside is available 24/7.

Knox County Commissioner Allen Stockberger said that in the late 1980s, a bill passed in the Ohio legislature required counties to form solid waste districts. This eventually led to the creation of the Delaware, Knox, Marion and Morrow County Solid Waste District.

“In the early years, recycling was profitable enough that private businesses offered [DKMM] solid waste district,” said Stockberger. However, he said that in the late 1990s, this was no longer the case, and private contractors would no longer provide recycling services for the county.

“In order to not only provide recycling opportunities for our constituents, but also to maintain compliance with the district plan, which is required by the Ohio EPA, we needed to have recycling available,” said Stockberger.

At this point, explained Stockberger, the decision was made to purchase the current recycling center, which was opened in 2000. Stockberger said when the center was first opened, the county had to subsidize it some, but not too bad.

“We were able to make it go reasonably well,” he said.

This continued until about two years ago, when the center was leased to Sims Brothers based in Marion.

“That has worked out reasonably well,” said Stockberger.

Because of the AlleyCat recycling trailers placed throughout the county, the county has a positive cash flow operating the recycling center. Some of the trailers are placed on a permanent basis, some on a temporary, rotating basis. According to Stockberger, the county receives money from the solid waste district for providing this service.

The county has one full-time employee who has the principle duty of picking up and dropping off the recycling trailers around the county.