Creston still taking plastic for recycling
Jul. 28—Representatives of Adair County Sanitary Landfill and Transfer Station remind residents beginning Monday, Aug. 1, they will no longer be able to leave plastics in the recycling bins placed in county communities.
The transfer station, located at 1645 Highway 25, north of Greenfield, has run into a road block over time due to the lowered value of all of the post-consumer recyclables, but especially plastics. Misuse of the plastics recycling bins and less of a market for the plastic have both played a factor in this trend.
"I haven't had any negative feedback yet, but once this rolls out I think we will have a little bit of negative feedback from people who are passionate about recycling," said Matt Wedemeyer, chairman of the transfer station's board. "At the same time, we're not totally doing away with it. They can still use the plastic bins at the actual landfill, which gives those are passionate about recycling a way to still do their part."
Waste Management, which oversees recycling in the city of Creston, will continue to accept plastics for recycling.
"In Union County, we run the recycling collection program for the residents of the city of Creston. We do not run county recycling programs or facilities. We have no plan to discontinue recycling collection in Creston or to prohibit appropriate plastics within those collections," said Ammon Taylor, a representative of Waste Management.
Wedemeyer said the new method of bringing in recyclable plastics will cut down on the waste the transfer station experiences.
"The plastics, I'm not sure why, becomes a catch all for things people aren't sure of where to put it," Wedemeyer said.
Bin compartments labeled plastics in Adair County communities will be changed to mixed paper. Appropriate plastics for Creston's recycling program include bottles and containers. They do not include things like garden hoses, plastic bags, plastic cords or films.
Taylor said Waste Management is committed to recycling programs across America and Creston. Waste Management expects to invest $275 million in recycling infrastructure this year, which would bring total investment to more than $800 million since 2018. The company recently announced another $525 million of investments planned for 2023 to 2025 for a projected total of more than $1.3 billion invested since 2018.
In Creston, recycling bins are located at Waste Management's facility at U.S. Highway 34 and Cromwell Road on Creston's west side.
The hours at the Adair County are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday, Thursdays 8 a.m. to noon and the first Saturday of each month 8 a.m. to noon.
