Our first Paulding County Recycling Extravaganza, held on July 20th, was a huge success. We processed more than 1,500 gallons of paint, 500 pounds of fluorescent bulbs, 2.5 tons of electronics and just under 30,000 pounds of tires. The turnout was excellent as it was a beautiful day and a lot of pent-up demand. Total cost for the Event came in at around $9,000.
Because this was our first major Event, I was uncertain of exactly what kind of response we would get. I knew the tire portion would be widely utilized but the response for the paint, bulbs and electronics was outstanding as well. We had a paint and bulbs pilot program last year but this way exceeded that volume.
Our event was widely publicized and especially helpful to our County Township Trustees. The lines got long at times but it was held at the Paulding County Fairgrounds which has excellent traffic flow and helped us to be as efficient as possible in moving the vehicles along.
I want to give a shout out to Aaron and Lindsay Timm along with Ron Wirts (Paulding County Engineering) for their assistance with the Event. It was a great example of collaboration among County departments and I couldn’t have done it without them. I also want to give a big shout-out to Kohart’s Salvage for their help as well. Their long-time driver, Bill, dropped off, picked up and delivered tires to Henry County Landfill for the Program and was a wonderful asset to the Event. To prepare the tires for transport required assistance and our Antwerp Varsity Football team stepped up big time. I contacted Dr. Marty Miller, Superintendent of Antwerp Schools, and he immediately put me in touch with Coach Hale. Within a day we had everything scheduled and those young men did a fantastic job and made quick work of the transfer.
Going forward, I’m hoping to have one Event a year but it will depend on budget. We were able to provide this one at no charge, which was incredibly helpful for everyone but we’ll have to see for future ones.
Great job Paulding County Recyclers!
—Shannon Ruschel
Director,
Paulding County WMEA
shannon@pauldingcountywmea.com
