Recycling bins will no longer accept plastics Aug. 1

There are some recycling changes that will take effect August 1 at the Adair County Transfer Station, better known to locals as the landfill.

Matt Wedemeyer, a representative of the landfill board, visited with the Greenfield City Council Tuesday, May 24 regarding the upcoming changes, the challenges the transfer station currently faces and how funding it currently works.

The board voted recently to no longer take plastic in bins placed around area communities starting Aug. 1. Plastics compartments on those bins will be relabeled mixed papers, but that doesn’t mean plastics won’t still be taken during business hours at the transfer station, located at 1625 Highway 25, Menlo.

The reasons for the change are that people are misusing the bins and that China quit taking post consumer recyclables about five years ago. These factors make it so there is really no market for plastics that are recycled.

“The paper is not too bad, but the plastic has just become what everybody throws everything else into. They put their grocery bags in there and that immediately rejects the load when we take it to sell it,” Wedemeyer said. “This is a nationwide issue. All the other counties around are facing it. All the plastics you’re putting in the recycling bins, probably 90% of it is just going to the landfill because there’s no market for it at all.”

Wedemeyer alluded to the fact that Adair County residents should be happy that area communities still have recycling bins to utilize. Cass County has taken away that convenience and residents have to take their recycling to the landfill for it to be processed.

Funding

Wedemeyer gave the council an overview of current and future funding for the transfer station. Starting July 1, 2023, the transfer station will increase what they ask for from area communities to $15 per capita, an increase of a dollar. Greenfield’s funding will be $30,930, an increase of $3,182 per year.

The transfer station currently has three full-time employees, one of them being director Kurt Reason. Incoming garbage is $80 per ton. Tires, appliances and other items have an additional fee. The transfer station pays about $24 per ton to the Perry landfill they take loads to.

Area communities in the 28E agreement include Bridgewater, Casey, Fontanelle, Greenfield, Menlo, Orient and Stuart. Total budget request from all entities for 2023-24 will be $126,675.

The Greenfield council decided to extend landfill fees on to sewer customers recently. They decided on a $3 per month fee, which will give the city a cushion so they shouldn’t have to up the fee as quickly going forward as costs rise.

City officials found during a simple survey in that process that Casey charges $6 per month to residents, Adair $5, Fontanelle $2 for residential and $3 for commercial, and Guthrie Center charges $3. Bridgewater does not require residents to have garbage pickup, so they don’t charge their residents the landfill fee. Orient and Menlo do not pass on the landfill support costs on to residents.

For a complete listing of action taken at the city council meeting, see the minutes in the public notice section of this edition.