A year later, Greene recycling business is booming
WAYNESBURG – A year since Greene County received 11 recycling trailers, the number of items county residents are recycling continues to grow every quarter. Mary Jane Kent, county solid waste and recycling coordinator, said that the 11 trailers transported over 47 tons of recyclable items in the last quarter, which ended Sept. 30.
“That number climbs a little all the time,” she said. “What’s remarkable is that everything is voluntary because no municipalities have mandated recycling due to our sparse population.”
According to 2001 data, Greene County ranked seventh in the state in recycling, with 52.8 percent of its municipal solid waste recycled. Kent said the number is higher because of the Greene Arc recycling center in Ruff Creek and Wilson Forest Products in Jefferson is shipping two to three truckloads of wood chips every day.
“Those two places add to our weights, but John Q. Public is doing his part too,” Kent said.
The recycling trailers were purchased by the county in 2001 with grant funds from the state Department of Environmental Protection and were given to the first 11 municipalities who requested them. As part of the agreement with the county, the municipalities are responsible for transporting the trailers to Greene Arc as the trailers become full.
Kent said Greene Arc has found markets for the recycled material in other parts of the state, along with sites in Ohio and North Carolina.
Any Greene County resident can use any of the trailers to deposit their recyclables, regardless of where they live. People can recycle glass, paper, aluminum, steel and bi-metals and plastic products and can put the items in the trailer even if the area designated for a certain product is full, because all of the material is sorted by hand at the Greene Arc recycling center.
Trailers are located in Cumberland Township at the municipal building, in Jefferson Township at the township park, in Monongahela Township at Monview Park, in Greene Township at Garards Fort, and in Center Township near Rogersville.
Two trailers are located in Meadowlark Park for Waynesburg Borough, and trailers can also be found in Morris Township near Nineveh, in New Freeport, in Jackson Township near Holbrook, and in Spraggs, Wayne Township.
Three stationary sites are located at the Greene Arc center, at the Morgan Township building in Mather, and along Headley Hollow Road in Richhill Township.
Another successful effort has been the hard-to-recycle events that have been co-sponsored by the Greene County chapter of PA Cleanways. Kent said four days are planned in 2003 at the fairgrounds where people can bring white goods, tires and used motor oil to be reused.
The first event for the year will be held Jan. 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Greene County Fairgrounds.
Kent said the response of county residents has been better than expected in this first year of the recycling trailers.
She said she is answering calls every week from people interested in recycling, and if anyone has questions, they should call her at 724-852-5234.
“Since there is no mandated recycling, this shows that people are environmentally conscious and they do care,” she said. “Even though there isn’t a landfill here, there are people who recognize that this is an issue.”