The fate of a 26-year recycling program overseen by the Iola Rotary Club is in doubt.
Rotary President Alana Kinzle announced last week the recycling program has “exceeded our club’s capability” and will end in December.
Rotary will make its last pick-ups Dec. 18. Members are eager to find another organization, club or entity willing to continue the project.
A dedicated team of volunteers has handled weekly collections for paper, cardboard, plastic, glass and other materials. The goods are kept in a storage area on the south side of the Peerless Windows plant on North State Street. However, Peerless notified Rotary that it needs the space, so if the program is to continue, it would need a new home.
Karen Gilpin, leader of the recycling effort, said an organizational meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Iola’s First Presbyterian Church to figure out what comes next.
“We don’t want it to just end,” Gilpin said.
THE RECYCLING effort began with paper, but has since expanded to cardboard and more recently, plastic, glass and metal.
Cans are taken to Ray’s Metal Depot in Gas, with proceeds handed over to Iola’s school district.
Plastic and glass are hauled by Allen County crews to a recycling center in Burlington.
The paper and cardboard are taken to a center in Wellsville, although their most recent delivery was rejected because the paper was not baled.
“So now we have two months’ worth of paper in that trailer that needs to be baled,” Gilpin said. “We need to try to figure out how to do it.”
THE herculean effort to round up the recycled materials from several locations around the county has grown beyond Rotary’s capability, Gilpin explained.
She and husband Jim have worked several hours each weekend since May helping bale cardboard. She also spends several hours a week trying to find volunteers to help lessen the load and schedule pickups.
More than 160 businesses in Allen County have drop-off spots for recycled materials.
“We’re bringing close to 10,000 pounds of cardboard a week,” Gilpin said.
Gilpin pointed to a team of dedicated volunteers who put in just as much time.
