Solid Waste District board members came to a consensus to fully fund the Ray Lovato Recycling Center’s request of $218,000 to keep their doors open through the next fiscal year. The funding from the District for $218,000 will fund operational costs to keep recycling services available for the community. The decision to fund the recycling center will officially be made once the board can vote on a final budget during their June 8th board meeting.

During the budget workshop, board member Larissa Apel said that the board has only received support for the recycling center’s operation. “We are in the business of waste management, and recycling is a part of managing waste,” Apel said. Solid Waste District No. 1 General Manager, Kevin Herman, voiced his concerns for funding the recycling center’s request in full. According to Herman, he hears complaints on a weekly basis about the recycling center.

Herman also said that he couldn’t justify paying $350 a ton to recycle when taxpayers could pay $55 a ton to put it in the landfill. “I have a big problem with that kind of a number,” Herman said. “When this District and the people in this District can dispose of it for $55 a ton, there is no way you should be paying six or seven times that rate. I don’t care how much of a recycler you are. I don’t care how good of a feel good thing it is… You’ve got one-percent of our waste being recycled.”

Ray Lovato Recycling Center Board President, Devon Brubaker, said that the recycling center had nearly closed months ago due to the bad recycling markets. “If it wasn’t for COVID-19, the recycling center would’ve ran out of money in the middle of April because of how bad the markets got this year,” Brubaker said. With another year ahead, there is an uphill battle for the future of the recycling center. Brubaker expressed his hope to form a true partnership with the District moving forward. Multiple board members recognized that the future of recycling will take a group effort from the entire county, involving multiple entities, leaders and residents.

To read the full story, visit https://www.sweetwaternow.com/ray-lovato-recycling-center-lives-to-see-another-year/.
Author: Brayden Flack, SweetWaterNow
Photo: 
Brayden Flack, SweetWaterNow

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