“Be leaders.”
That was the blunt challenge Steve Strickler delivered to Allen County commissioners Tuesday as an often tense discussion about recycling once again stalled without action.
Strickler, speaking on behalf of Allen County Recycling, presented a new plan that would place responsibility for countywide recycling largely with Allen County. The proposal calls for one county employee working part time, two to three days a week, to collect, sort and bale recyclables from across the county.
The plan would provide recycling access to residents in Humboldt, Petrolia, Savonburg, Moran, Mildred, Carlyle, LaHarpe and Gas, with totes and barrels placed in each community and weekly collection handled by a county truck and trailer. Recyclables would be taken to the Recycling Center in Iola, which would remain open to all county residents.
Under the proposal, the county employee would spend one day collecting recyclables, one day sorting and baling them at the recycling center, and a third day as needed for additional baling, storage, loading and maintenance.
Equipment needed would include a pickup, lowboy trailer, totes, barrels and basic tools, along with a baler and forklift.
Strickler said he would be willing to help the county get the program started by shadowing the employee and providing education on sorting and baler operation.
He also offered to loan equipment currently used in the recycling process, with the understanding that the county would maintain it and eventually purchase it at an agreed-upon price.
As another option, Strickler said he would continue baling and marketing recyclables on a contractual basis until the county and city systems are stabilized or until he is no longer able to do so.
COMMISSIONERS expressed concern that the plan went beyond what had previously been discussed.
Commission Chair David Lee said he had envisioned a smaller step forward. “What I had envisioned was that we kind of dip our toe into the water here, and this is jumping into the deep end,” he said.
Lee also shared public feedback he has received. “Of the 20 to 25 phone calls that I have taken, I’ve only had one person who has said we need to do this,” he said, noting that many of the callers questioned whether recycling should be a county responsibility or an individual choice.
Strickler pushed back, arguing that the issue was about saving landfill space and “doing the right thing.”
He pointed out that Allen County ships a semi-load of cardboard each month, totaling 40,000 to 50,000 pounds, and said recycling helps reduce the need for expensive landfill expansion.
He also described the environmental and labor costs of plastic waste, referencing plastic bags caught on landfill fences and the time employees spend cleaning them up.
Much of the discussion focused on how the proposal differed from earlier conversations that involved both a county employee and a City of Iola employee sharing recycling duties.
