Solid Waste Committee Explores Recycling

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Published on August 22 2017 3:30 pm
Last Updated on August 22 2017 3:33 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

(MEMBERS OF THE EFFINGHAM COUNTY BOARD SOLID WASTE COMMITTEE VISIT THE SOLID WASTE TRANSFER STATION SOUTH OF ALTAMONT WHERE THE RECYCLABES ARE PACKAGED BEFORE BEING TAKEN FOR REUSE)

Recycling is available in Effingham County; you just have to know where to look.

The Effingham County Board's Solid Waste Committee has beefing up recycling as a chief goal. Committee members Tuesday toured the recycling station sponsored by Centenary United Methodist Church in Effingham, and also visited Landfill 33's solid waste transfer station south of Altamont.

The Centenary congregation has hosted the recycling station for several years. Church member Bill Elving discussed the station and Brian Hayes and Tracy Sutter of Landfill 33 explained the process of removing the deposited items.

(BRIAN HAYES OF LANDFILL 33 AND BILL ELVING OF CENTENARY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH DISCUSS THE RECYCLING PROGRAM OPERATED AT THE CHURCH AND LANDFILL 33's COLLECTION OF THE RECYCLABLES)

From that point, the scene shifted to the transfer station, which is located along the Altamont-Farina blacktop. 

Once a sufficient amount of recyclables are received and sorted, Landfill 33 takes the items to Midwest Fiber, which has locations in Bloomington, Decatur and other Central Illinois cities. Midwest Fiber pays Landfill 33 for the recyclables, although the market isn't lucrative.

Hayes said one help to Landfill 33 or other waste haulers would be for residents to crush the items they'd like recycled, such as plastic or cardboard. He said such a simple step would save on space and would reduce transportation costs.

Another way to help would be to sort items...paper, tin cans, glass, plastics, and the rest. Hayes said having items pre-sorted is a big time saver, which means less manhours. Having the items pre-sorted helps when Landfill 33 reaches the delivery point.

(THERE ARE DIFFERENT CONTAINERS AT THE SOLID WASTE TRANSFER STATION WHERE RECYCLABLES CAN BE DISPOSED. SOMETIMES, THOUGH, THERE ARE ITEMS PLACED IN THE WRONG CONTAINER. THIS CONTAINER IS FOR COLORED PLASTIC BOTTLES. CLEARLY, NOT EVERYTHING IN THE CONTAINER FITS THE BILL)

As to whether people really travel to the solid waste transfer station, Sutter said 'yes". He said most of the folks who do it are from Altamont, St. Elmo and Farina, Edgewood and Mason, but said there are those from Effingham who make the trek. He also noted that most of those who use the transfer station to recycle are older county residents.

There are open receptacles for the various recyclables, and you can toss the items into the appropriate receptacle. 

(A LOOK AT THE CONTAINERS IN PLACE AND WAITING FOR RECYCLABLE ITEMS AT THE SOLID WASTE TRANSFER STATION SOUTH OF ALTAMONT)

Sutter said the solid waste transfer station is open 24/7 for disposal of recyclables.

There are other possibilities in the county for recycling; Davis Recycling is receiving some items; the Village of Teutopolis has a recycling program for village residents; and electronics and white goods can be taken to Landfill 33.

Elving mentioned that Centenary Church hosts periodic e-cycling days; the next one is set for September 30. He also mentioned that plastic has "taken a hit" as far as its value to recycling firms, as there is no foreign market for the product. He said some congregation members at Centenary use the "Walmart-style bags" and craft them into mats for use by homeless people.

Meanwhile, the solid waste committee wants to continue gathering information, including taking a trip with Landfill 33 to one of the central Illinois communities where they leave the recyclables.