Recycling collection facility eyed for county

The Geauga Trumbull Solid Waste Management District Board has agreed to establish a household hazardous waste, appliance and electronic recycling collection facility in Geauga County.

“The Solid Waste District is looking into two options: leasing a 6,000- to 7,000-square-foot building or building a facility,” Public Outreach Coordinator Holly Carine said in a news release.

The board would like it placed in the center of the county so Munson Township or Newbury Township are ideal locations, the release stated.

If the district can lease a building, it could be available for residents as early as this summer. The facility will be run similar to the one located on Enterprise Boulevard in Warren and collect household hazardous waste, electronics and appliances.

The day or time the facility will be open to residents has not been established.

In the past, the district has held one day Household Hazardous Waste Collections in Chardon. In 2016, the district recycled 59,395 pounds of waste and held the event for three hours, the release stated.

This collection did not include appliances or electronics.

A Household Hazardous Waste options study was compiled by RRS Consultants out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, to establish the best model for collecting household hazardous waste in Geauga County, the release stated.

RRS studied a multitude of options being used across the nation to manage household hazardous waste and other hard to recycle materials. Some of the options evaluated included mobile transfer collection, curbside pickup, fixed site multi-day/satellite collections, permanent facility and single day.

“The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility on Enterprise Boulevard in Warren has been in operation for over 10 years and is very popular among residents,” Carine said in the release.

The district has been able to divert over 395,178 pounds of material from landfills a year with the site averaging around 150 cars a day.

This year, the site will open to district residents on May 2. Hours of operation will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Wednesday until the end of October.

New to the program this year, the district is asking residents not to bring latex paint because it is nonhazardous and is waterbased. Residents are asked to harden the old paint before it is disposed.

For more information on the Household Hazardous Waste Facility in Warren and acceptable materials, go to www.startrecycling.com, or call 330-675-2673 or 800- 707-2673.