Iola leaders expressed a willingness once again to visit with Allen County commissioners about a countywide recycling program.
Council members were given a glimpse Monday of what one such program would look like, with one city and county employee working four days a week for curbside pickup service in Iola, and from businesses throughout the county.
Iolan Steve Strickler led a contingent of 40 or so residents to Monday’s City Council meeting to note the desire for a recycling program remains strong.
In fact, as he’s noted in the past, the demand has been so strong that he and the other volunteers with Allen County Recycling have had a hard time keeping up. “We think the program is a fiscally and environmentally responsible plan to do just that,” he said in a written proposal.
Strickler spoke alongside Todd Bemis, who has been in charge of Coffey County’s recycling program since it started more than 30 years ago.
To date, Coffey County remains the only county in the state with curbside recycling services for each of its six communities.
Council members were receptive, but noted a countywide project should involve the county, particularly since the primary benefit would be taking less trash to the Allen County Landfill.
“I’m not anti-recycling,” Councilwoman Joelle Shallah said. “I want to see something done, but we really need to involve the county.”
No one from the Allen County Commission attended Monday’s City Council meeting.
BEMIS, who has been with Coffey County for more than 40 years, noted his program started small and expanded as logistics allowed.
Today, the recycling program carries an annual budget of about $249,000, with four full-time county employees at the helm.
Last year, the program brought in about $80,000 in revenues.
“This program obviously does not pay for itself, but it does save landfill space,” Bemis said.
Under Strickler’s proposal, the Iola’s and Allen County’s costs would be much less because of the recycling depot already in place on the east side of Iola. He pegged initial equipment cost purchases of about $25,000 for a baler, trailers and trucks (which are already in the city and county’s fleets).
“The program would make efficient use of existing employees, with very little additional equipment and building investment,” he said.
Strickler pointed to another concern voiced previously by Iola Council members, that the city would have to alter its policy of not collecting refuse from businesses. By charging a nominal fee — say $5 a month — the city could expand its recyclable pick-up.
