ST. MARYS - In an effort to run a sustainable operation, the Elk County Community Recycling Center recently revamped its program with a brand-new system.
Through a $250,000 state recycling grant, the center purchased a conveyor sort line. Material travels up the conveyor and gets dropped onto the sort line. Plastics, paper, cardboard and aluminum are separated into bins by employees.
The recycling center now sits on Washington Street in St. Marys, but it started inside a much smaller building about six years ago.
“The program has expanded so much that when this building became available, it was too good to be true,” coordinator Bekki Titchner said. “We moved in here last May, but to be able to take in large quantities of material, we knew we had to do even more.”
Starting this month, the recycling center will be taking in materials from large roll-off containers that sit throughout Elk County and as much commercial cardboard and paper as it can.
“This should give us a lot more tons because we have to keep the lights on and we have to pay staff,” Titchner said. “We want to make sure we’re still here five to 10 years from now.”
Titchner said about 90 percent of people working the drive-thru are volunteers, and the operation simply wouldn’t work without them.
The Elk County Community Recycling Center is always looking for more volunteers and as much material as possible.
It plans to host an open house soon to showcase the new facility to the community.
ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7y6iamqRfmrmsecKorKesqWK%2Fpq%2FYnKOippdisKa6056pZqegmr%2BiwMinnmavmam1brrEsGSsp6Kpeq21zZ4%3D