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Recycling coordinator reports lower tonnage but equipment and staffing gains; multicounty grant funds available
Summary
Recycling center coordinator Joanne B reported a year-over-year drop in collected pounds (she estimated losing just over 100,000 pounds), highlighted gains in cardboard, plastics and electronics, and described recent investments (new building, equipment and expanded staff). She also reviewed multicounty grant rules and a roughly $90,000 budget target available for recycling initiatives.
Joanne B, the county’s recycling center facility coordinator, told commissioners on Nov. 25 that total inbound tonnage was down from the previous year — she estimated the center lost just over 100,000 pounds compared with last year — and that mixed paper collections fell from about 217,600 pounds last year to roughly 124,000 pounds this year.
She outlined offsets and improvements: cardboard and plastics collections increased, the center recently began accepting glass (about 20,000 pounds since the program started), electronics recycling rose by about 10,000 pounds, and a household hazardous waste event collected roughly 119,000 pounds of material. Joanne credited recent road-work disruption for some of the decline in tonnage and said new services and equipment are intended to rebuild participation.
The coordinator described investments funded after the county’s millage passed: the center bought additional balers (up from three to 13), a new building (reported cost ~ $289,000 with the county paying a portion at purchase), new forklift and truck, paving for the lot, and interior improvements. Staffing increased from four to 13 employees.
Joanne also reviewed the multicounty recycling grant: the program provides base funds (reported as $60,000) plus a multicounty bonus (about $10,000) and an early per-capita payment structure that the county budgeted to a roughly $90,000 program total for the planning period; she emphasized that the grant is reimbursement-based, not an immediate cash disbursement. She and county staff discussed the practical limits of accepting other counties’ material (capacity, space constraints, and operational logistics) and concerns about using millage-funded capacity to process material for other jurisdictions.
Commissioners asked about operational limits, potential partnerships with neighboring counties and the scheduling of a multicounty training meeting planned for late January. Joanne said the program has improved the facility’s capabilities but cautioned that physical capacity, staffing and collection logistics will constrain how much additional material Sandlac County could accept from neighboring jurisdictions.
No formal board action was required at the presentation; commissioners thanked Joanne for the update.
