Dive Brief:

• The Miami County Council in Indiana approved a new recycling facility in Peru, IN that will let residents drop off hazardous chemicals, electronics and other problem waste year-round. The council approved $464,000 to purchase a 4,300-square-foot building for the facility that should open by the end of the year.
• The recycling district currently only allows residents to dispose of problem items on 64 scheduled drop-off days a year, according to Miami County Solid Waste Director Samantha Ward. The new facility won't affect the 11 drop-off centers that are only for paper, plastic, cardboard, glass and metal. 
• County property owners currently pay $30 annually to fund the solid waste district. Ward said those costs shouldn’t go up because all the funding for the project is already in the budget. 

Dive Insight:

The solid waste district began saving money to buy a building in 2008. “It feels good to have all this work finally pay off," Ward told the Kokomo Tribune. "I’m excited to provide better service to the people of Miami County. I don’t like telling people they have to wait to recycle."

Councilman Craig Boyer, who previously served on the solid waste board, said, "Trash is a growing thing. It seems likes we get more every year. If people have places to take their tires, maybe there wouldn’t be so many on the roads."

The solid waste district made the smart move to save for the new facility and expand recycling for residents without raising fees.