Dive Brief:
- A recycling center in York County, SC is one of the many institutions that will receive improvements if an $89.8 million bond is approved by voters in a countywide referendum on Nov. 3.
- The recycling center — which took in 10,000 tons of waste last year — is lacking a fully-closed structure and efficient equipment. Currently, mounds of recyclables are sitting outdoors while mixed items are hand-separated by local inmates. If waste is processed on-site, the center makes $80 per ton. The current inefficiency, however, causes the facility to outsource some of the waste, only allowing it to make $5 per ton.
- The recycling center will receive $22 million if the bond is passed. $8 million will go toward a larger facility, and more automated and efficient equipment could be bought to improve the facility.
Dive Insight:
Getting residents on-board to see the key benefits of the bond is crucial in order to ensure that it passes. By giving $22 million for improvements at the recycling facility, the facility will be able to handle more waste in a day, allowing for an increase in county revenue and a decrease in overall waste.
"This is a service we provide here," said York County Assistant Public Works Director Eric Rekitt to The Herald. "It's a quality of life issue."
While recycling commodity prices pose economical challenges for MRFs across the nation, such facilities allow for extreme increases in recycling participation. The York County MRF may require a level of financial assistance, such as what is offered with the bond, in order to stay open during a time of unfavorable prices.
In addition to recycling facility improvements, the bond would allow improvements at the county's courtrooms, sheriff offices, and magistrate's offices.