Iola and Allen County leaders were essentially unanimous this week, agreeing they’d like a recycling program of some capacity to remain available.
They were equally insistent on another point: In order for them to take over such a venture, they need a plan.
On Monday, City Council members tasked members of Allen County Recycling — the non-profit volunteer group that has approached both the city and county to have those entities take the reins on such a program — to come up with a proposal for them to consider.
Council members asked Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock to visit with Allen County Recycling representatives Steve Strickler and Dan Davis to determine how much it costs the group to run their recycling depot in east Iola, and what sort of revenues they get from shipping off baled cardboard.
Davis, Strickler and several others in the audience Monday spoke out in favor of recycling.
“It’s a great idea to have the county and city work together,” noted Iolan Vicki Curry, who lives just outside Iola’s city limits.
Iolan Gary McIntosh, both a former city and county commissioner, agreed, noting recycling may not be popular, “but it’s the right thing to do.”
Others who also spoke in favor of recycling were Diana Bowman, an Australian native, along with long-time Iolan George Levans and Iola High School students Bella Rahming and Brox Elbrader.
COUNCIL members were receptive to the messages, but also wanted to hear more than platitudes.
“We are not opposed to recycling,” Councilwoman Joelle Shallah said. “We are in support of it. But we have not been presented with a viable plan or program so that we can do our due diligence” to consider.
Councilman Jonathon Wells, another who said he wanted to see recycling continue, cautioned against a “pay as you throw” venture, in which residents would be assessed variable rates based on how much trash they send to the landfill each month.
“I have zero faith that would work,” he said. “It would be a burden on our citizens.”
Council members Nich Lohman and Joel Wicoff suggested whatever the planners come up with, they should start small.
“Everybody needs to know how much it would cost to basically run the center you’ve already got,” Wicoff said.
Lohman agreed, adding that even a small, simple program will likely not recoup enough revenues to cover the cost, “but this could be a viable program.”
Shallah offered a word of caution, noting her daughter lives in Wichita, where one of the city’s main waste management companies has recently discontinued its recycling program.
