REMOTE RECYCLING SITES – TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM!

 

            Last week, a new remote household garbage and recycling site opened its gates to Floyd County citizens living in the southern part of the County.  This new site, Midway Park Garbage and Recycling Collection Site, is the largest remote site in acreage in Floyd County and replaces the smallest sites we had – Silver Creek Remote Site off Old Rockmart Highway.  However, even though Silver Creek was the smallest site, it generated 2 times the amount of garbage as the next most heavily used site in the system over - 4,000 tons per year.  Approximately 2,500 people per week visited this site and the congestion was hard on everyone’s nerves.  Now, these citizens can enjoy a larger, easier to use site that also offers expanded recycling opportunities. 

            The Midway Park site was built with grant funds from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority and the hard work and expertise of Floyd County Public Works.  After almost a year of effort, the site is now complete and open to the public.  During its first day of operation it was quite apparent that the congestion of Silver Creek is gone and people can get in and out of the site quickly.

            Another aspect of this new site is the expanded recycling offered.  As at Silver Creek, citizens can still recycle corrugated boxes, paper board packaging, newspapers, magazines, aluminum cans, steel (tin) cans and glass bottles and jars.  New at Midway is a container for #1 and #2 plastic bottles and jars.  Additionally, the way the recycling containers are set up, they are very easy to access after dropping off your garbage.  All of the recycling containers are in one place and away from the garbage boxes.  Now the challenge is to encourage more residents to use these recycling containers. 

            All of the garbage that is generated at our remote collection sites goes to Walker Mountain Landfill and Floyd County is charged a tipping fee of $ 31.90 per ton.  Silver Creek alone cost almost $ 130,000 in tipping fees for those 4,000 tones.  All of the recycling that is generated at the remote sites is brought to the Recycling Center and sent off to markets generating revenues instead of costing us landfill fees.  So by utilizing the recycling opportunities at our remote collection sites, you are helping keep garbage costs down while also helping generate more revenues for the Recycling Center.  Tax dollars are used to operate our remote sites and the Recycling Center and all of the revenues we generate here at the Center offset our expenses and reduce the amount of tax dollars required to operate the facility.  Our goal is to recycle enough materials to be able to pay all of the Recycling Center costs and the more recycling that is collected at the Floyd County remotes sites the closer we get to that goal.  Visit the Recycling Center’s website at www.romefloydrecycles.org to find the remote site nearest you.  Or call the Recycling Center at 291-5266.

 

                  RECYCLING TOTALS

 

FEB 04

YTD 04

Recycling Center

729,910*

2,076,055*

Curbside

136,967*

300,004*

County Remotes

109,880*

209,360*

Paid to Public

$2,386

$5,184

Revenues Earned

$25,174

$59,301

Landfill

 

 

    Cost Avoidance

$11,642

$33,113

                  reported in pounds*