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Residents press Goshen council over recycling center closure; staff cite illegal dumping and staffing limits
Summary
Multiple residents urged the council to reopen Goshen’s public recycling center after repeated illegal dumping and outside use forced closure. City staff said the center has been overwhelmed by non-residents and hazardous or bulky materials, and that staffing and site redesign costs make immediate reopening infeasible.
Several residents used the council’s privilege of the floor July 28 to press the city to restore its recycling drop‑off center, saying the service is valuable to the community and to the city’s bottom line. James Loewen (spelled "Lowen" in his remarks), who identified his Goshen address, told councilors he wanted the facility kept open and suggested additional surveillance or stiffer fines. “I think recycling has been a benefit for the bottom line and it’s also something good for all of us,” he said.
City staff and the mayor outlined why the center is closed: the facility has been used extensively by non‑city residents after nearby county drop‑offs closed, and irresponsible users have left hazardous and bulky items (staff cited “dead chickens” and “bed‑bug infested mattresses” in testimony). Staff said the volume and types of waste have created dangerous and time‑consuming cleanup work for city employees.
What the city has done and why reopening is difficult: the city has increased cameras and raised fines but found enforcement and follow‑up too labor‑intensive to be sustainable. Staff told the council that continuous on‑site staffing during hours of operation would be the most effective control but is financially infeasible given current budget constraints. City officials also said pay‑gate or fencing solutions would require site redesign and added asphalt to maintain truck turning radii; those retrofits would carry substantial capital cost.
Alternatives discussed: councilors and staff noted existing options for county residents (private curbside services) and discussed whether the Goshen Environmental Dump (a secured, gated facility handled by a private contractor) could serve more users; staff said that location and equipment constraints limit its use for the typical recycling flow. Staff described a prior change to the gatehouse location at the recycling site to facilitate monitoring as part of the evaluation.
Community reaction and next steps: residents and councilors asked whether Goshen has coordinated with neighboring municipalities; staff said other county sites had closed largely for the same reasons and that outreach had not yielded a collective solution so far. The city will continue evaluating options but does not plan to reopen the public drop‑off in the near term until a financially and operationally feasible alternative is identified.
