Availability, Affordability of Recycling in County Discussed

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Published on July 18 2017 4:05 pm
Last Updated on July 18 2017 4:05 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

The Effingham County Waste Management Committee discussed the availability and affordability of recycling in the county Tuesday.

Landfill 33 Operations Manager Brian Hayes said his goal is to make recycling more available, and have a container available to handle e-cycling, but said it costs a lot to have those items hauled away.

The recyclable items are now being taken to a facility in Bloomington.

Committee member and Effingham City Clerk Kelsey Lock asked to tour Hayes' operation and the facility in Bloomington. Lock said it would help her better understand what is available now and what the committee could pursue. Plans are to meet as a committee at Landfill 33 to view the local operation and then take a trip to Bloomington to review that facility.

Hayes said it's his goal to offer enhanced recycling opportunities in a facility being built on the landfill site. The facility is also designed to provide some shelter for the waste hauling vehicles owned by the landfill.

There was discussion about other recycling initiatives. Effingham Public Library has partnered with Effingham Performance Center and Ultimate Electronic Recycling to present another opportunity for the community to recycle eletronic equipment. The event is scheduled for Saturday, August 5 from 9:30am to 2:30pm at the Performance Center at 1325 Outer Belt West in Effingham. The community is encouraged to take all forms of electronics for recycling. Based in Carlinville, Ultimate Electronic Recycling offers free data and hard drive destruction. They will also recycle batteries, old televisions and computer monitors for a fee of 25-cents per pound.

Committee member Bill Elving discussed the e-cycling initiatives offered by Centenary United Methodist Church of Effingham in recent years. Elving said another such event will take place in September.

Meanwhile, the matter of establishing a tipping fee in the county was discussed briefly. Hayes said now is not the time to discuss the fee, but instead when the landfill has to renew its operating permit.

A previous County Board instituted a tipping fee, but never set the fee. Current County Board Chairman Jim Niemann has said that if a tipping fee is on the books, the fee needs to be established and collected, or eliminate the fee legislation.