State grant to help improve facilities at recycling center

March 12, 2004|by RICHARD F. BELISLE

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - Work at the Washington Township Recycling Center off Pa. 16 is about to become more efficient thanks to a $292,000 grant that will, among other things, pay for a new storage building on the site.

Township Manager Michael Christopher said the money will be spent to improve facilities and equipment in the township's recycling and trash transfer station. The township has to come up with about $30,000 in matching funds, he said.

The biggest chunk, about $226,000, will be spent on a new 80- by 105-foot, one-story storage building for the recycling center. The new building will be used to store bales of newspapers, plastic bottles and other bundled recycled materials that are now left wherever there is room in the building that processes the materials.

"We'll be able to store them in the new building, which will make things much more efficient," Christopher said. "We'll be able to move around more now."

Christopher said 15 employees work in the recycling center, which takes in newspapers, cardboard, plastic bottles and metal and aluminum cans. The materials are separated and bundled for shipment to recyclers.

Last year, the recycling center took in $65,000 over expenses for recycling more than 4,200 tons of material, Christopher said.

The center processed 917 tons of newspapers, 205 tons of metal cans, 835 tons of glass, 218 tons of cardboard, 248 tons of plastics and 61 tons of aluminum cans, he said.

Anyone in the Tri-State area can drop off household materials to be recycled free of charge.

The rest of the grant will pay for a forklift, scale and back hoe.

The recycling station is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

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