Campbell County solid waste coordinator reports increases in recycling, voucher and education programs

Megan Claire Abrams, Campbell County solid waste coordinator, told the fiscal court on March 6 that the county’s spring and fall cleanups drew more than 4,200 residents and that crews collected about 570 tons of trash.

“We had over 4,200 residents participate in the spring and fall cleanups. We collected about 570 tons of trash,” Abrams said, and she added that the county recycled about 207 tons of tires, electronics, scrap metal and propane tanks.

Abrams reviewed a full year of a voucher program introduced in January. She said the county issued 360 vouchers during the year and reported that 77 vouchers were redeemed at the Covington Transfer Station or the Pendleton County Landfill; Abrams described that result as a 49% success rate in the program’s first year. The vouchers cover roughly an eight-foot trailer load (about a pickup-truck load) and should not be stacked more than about 3 feet high, she said.

The county’s household hazardous waste (HHW) collection event — held with Boone and Kenton counties — recorded 1,917 participants across the three counties, with 260 Campbell County residents and about 91 tons of material collected, Abrams said. She and court members attributed a decline in participation this year to the event being held on the last day of early voting.

Abrams said the county installed three year-round electronics drop-off bins in late August (one at Pendery Park, one at Southern Campbell Fire Department and one at the Cold Spring branch of the Campbell County Public Library). From August through December those bins collected 4,841 pounds of electronics, she said.

She said the county is also expanding a vape-collection and education effort begun in Campbell County schools in 2023. Abrams said the program collected about 10 pounds of confiscated vaping devices in its first year — which she estimated as roughly 286 devices — and that the county has an MOU with the Northern Kentucky Health Department to expand anonymous collection and education across K–12 schools.

Other programs reported by Abrams included a Christmas-tree recycling effort (229 trees collected and transported to Corinth Lake in Grant County), holiday-light collection (about 1,200 pounds collected at six drop-off locations), new “bright blue” recycling bins and updated signage that the coordinator said have reduced illegal dumping at bin sites, and participation in the Hefty ReNew bag recycling program for plastic film and other hard-to-recycle items.

Abrams also described a new online “Where Does This Go?” search tool and a waste-sorting educational game funded by a Kentucky Division of Waste Management recycling grant; the tool contains guidance on disposal or recycling options for more than 240 items, she said.

On litter abatement, Abrams reported crews collected 2,132 bags (an estimated 42,000 pounds) and cleaned 365 road miles, noting that the county’s goal had been about 350 miles. She described volunteer programs that contributed to that total, including 27 Trash-for-Cash cleanups with 254 volunteers and work by the county detention center, whose workers logged 953 hours and collected roughly 1,300 bags along 81 miles of roadway.

In response to commissioners’ questions, Abrams said alkaline batteries and CDs are not classified as hazardous waste and can be placed in regular trash; she said residents may instead wait for the HHW event or use private recyclers for a fee. She said Campbell County covers recycling services through contract and general-fund allocations because the county lacks a local recycling processing center.

Abrams closed by listing upcoming events and dates: the spring cleanup in May (all locations will accept electronics), RiverSweep scheduled for May 24 at Frederick’s Landing in Wilder, and the HHW collection event on Nov. 1 at Florence Hills Baseball Stadium (with Boone and Kenton counties).