Morrow County villages and townships are making a major effort to recycle more waste paper, plastics and metal this year. Mount Gilead residents and businesses have the opportunity this month to receive free trash bins for pick up by recyclers. There are also 24-Hour Recycling locations in 13 places in Morrow County.

Curbside recycling is free to all Mount Gilead Village residents. They’ve received a coupon in the mail this week for a free curbside recycle bin. Recycling in the county is funded by the $6 per ton contract fee on municipal solid waste generated in the Delaware, Knox, Marion and Morrow Waste District (DKMM.)

Louann Holmes, the Morrow County Recycling and Litter Prevention Specialist at the Health Department said that Mount Gilead is unique in that recycling is included with the monthly fee for water, sewer and trash collection. The recycling bins are free and provided by DKMM.

The number of pounds of recycled materials almost reached the one million mark in Morrow County in 2016 with 945,160 pounds or 472.5 tons. That is an increase over the 2010 amount of 795,101 pounds of recycled material.

Villages in the county that collected the most in 2016 were Marengo with 138,950 pounds and Johnsville with 135,260 pounds.

The 24- Hour Recycling locations in the county are: Cardington Twp. Hall at 4064 Co. Rd. 132, Franklin Twp. Hall at 5380 St. Rt. 95, Highland across from the elementary school in Sparta, Chesterville 3675 St. Rt. 314, Iberia 8587 Co. Rd. 30, Johnsville on the Elementary School Property, Marengo beside the former Marengo Market, Mid-Ohio Sanitation and Recycling on Lincoln Ave., Northmor by the school on Co. Rd. 29, Fulton Village Hall at 212 West St., Westfield Twp. Hall on Co. Rd. 21, and Peru Township Hall at 1031 Co. Rd. 24.

Holmes visits the county schools and is contracted by the DKMM District to have educational programs. She also organizes the annual Trash Bash in the spring. Last year Holms led the clean-up of Whetstone Creek with Tomorrow Center students and worked with residents in Peru Twp. to clean up along Alum Creek.

“Keeping as much trash as possible out of the landfill is our goal,” said Holmes. “We kept 472.5 tons out of the landfill last year.”

In October Morrow County became a “Keep America Beautiful” community. There are 15 volunteers on the Keep America Beautiful Board including: Carri Jagger, Chris Conant, Geoffrey Gompf, Jan Johnson, Becky Barker, Joelyn Lanning, Dwight Mc Farland, Rita Barton, Mike Porter, Marilyn Weiler, Ed Kimmey, Faith Kunze, Jodi Hayes, Alyson Lanning, and Richard Harvey and Executive Director Louann Holmes.

Questions about recycling can be sent to[email protected], 419-947-1545 Ext. 315.

Alberta Stojkovic | The Sentinel Louann Holmes displays the new recycle bins that are free for Mount Gilead residents along with materials that are recommended for recycling such as paper, metal cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2017/02/web1_crand.jpgAlberta Stojkovic | The Sentinel Louann Holmes displays the new recycle bins that are free for Mount Gilead residents along with materials that are recommended for recycling such as paper, metal cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles.
Villages around the county stepping up recycling efforts

By Alberta Stojkovic

The Sentinel

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