Community recycling is making a comeback beginning Saturday at the Allen County Recycling facility.
“It’s a quality-of-life issue,” said Dan Davis, volunteer. “Recycling benefits everybody.”
Davis and fellow volunteers are spearheading the monthly collection effort following concerns with the projected lifespan of a new Allen County landfill cell, which is expected to fill up in 8-10 years, almost twice as fast as the current cell, which was constructed in 2009 and is almost full.
On Monday, Public Works Director Mitch Garner said the cause is simply an increase in local trash.
Around a dozen neighboring counties also use Allen County’s landfill, but that number has remained static over the last several years, said Garner.
A total of 6,812 tons of residential waste from Allen County was transported by the city and private haulers to the landfill in 2023. When combined with the trash of local businesses, it amounts to more than 12 tons.
Renewing the recycling effort would help reduce the local input and extend the cell’s lifespan, said Davis. The new cell is approaching a $3 million price tag upon completion.
SINCE THE mid 1990s, Iola Rotarians spearheaded recycling efforts through paper drives, an effort that eventually expanded to include collecting cardboard, plastic, glass and metal. However, the popularity of the effort grew to the point that it became too much for Rotarians to handle.
When Peerless Products notified the Rotary club that it would need to reclaim its loading dock — the site used by Rotarians to drop off recyclables — Rotary ceased its recycling program at the end of 2021, after 30 years. Volunteers then launched Allen County Recycling a few months later.
The group set up shop in a long-discarded building near Pump N Pete’s on East Street.
Over the ensuing 18 months, the all-volunteer effort became a struggle, as fewer and fewer helpers stepped forward to collect totes filled with cardboard boxes or sort through the various types of plastic, glass and other materials left at the site. Due to this, the group paused their efforts a year ago.
“Since closing, we’ve heard every week about the need,” said Davis, who says the renewed effort is still in need of volunteers. “We could probably use up to 10 volunteers,” he said. Help from organizations or clubs who are seeking community service hours is also welcome, he added.
“I don’t understand why municipalities have not taken recycling seriously,” said Davis, noting his frustrations with perceived city and county inaction. He added that Iola City Council has discussed the need for recycling, but he doesn’t think they have looked at it from a realistic standpoint. “They were looking at the cost of hiring all new employees and buying new equipment,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be that costly. The city has the adequate staffing right now to have something in place.”
The council initially discussed offering curbside pickup and constructing a recycling facility at the Jan. 22, 2024, meeting but balked at the projected investment of $585,000. After researching alternatives, a proposed drop-off program was presented to the council in February.
It consisted of four drop-off recycling containers for plastics, cardboard, glass, and aluminum. The containers would be placed within city limits at a singular “to-be-determined” location. The total cost of such a program would be approximately $141,100 annually, with an initial start-up cost of $273,000. This estimated cost included a roll-off container truck priced at $225,000 and the cost to employ a driver would be $45,000. The roll-off containers, by themselves, cost $48,000.
