Dive Brief:
- The Floyd County Solid Waste Board in Indiana will meet Aug. 18 to consider closing all but one recycling drop-off site by the end of the month, after the Floyd County Council voted against $70,000 in additional appropriations. Operations Manager Mary Lou Byerley had said the additional funds would have kept all sites open through the end of 2015.
- As part of its cuts to the general fund in April, the council cut the Solid Waste budget in half, to $125,000.
- Byerley said recycling has to be taken to QRS Recycling in Louisville, KY, which adds gasoline costs. QRS moved some of its operations to Louisville from New Albany, IN this year.
Dive Insight:
Many towns try to make recycling easier for residents, with curbside pickup, single-stream recycling, and other advances. Therefore, cutting the town's recycling options to one drop-off site is a decided setback.
Byerley and the council sparred over the need for the funds, with Council President Matt Oakley saying the board was "blindsided" by the request and that no documentation was provided, the News and Tribune reported.
"I have given them figures before. I have emailed them figures," Byerley said after the meeting. "I did not think I needed to bring any."
