The Marshall County Solid Waste Management District has released its annual report for 2021. The report is available on the District’s website or from the office.
“We report annually to the state of Indiana on our activities, and those reports are available through the Indiana Gateway site,” said Marianne Peters, District Executive Director. “We also do a monthly email newsletter accessible through our website. However, I want to make people more aware of what we’re doing and the difference we as a county are making in landfill diversion.”
Landfill diversion, Peters explained, is more than just recycling plastic, metal, and glass.
“We are recycling the same things people recycle curbside, but also more troublesome items that can’t go in a landfill,” she said. “We work with a paint recycler, an electronic waste recycler, a battery recycler, and a tire recycler. We see that hazardous materials are disposed of correctly. We collected a ton of cooking oil last year for Homestead Dairy. We have a partner who will now take residents’ rigid Styrofoam and our plastic films, such as grocery bags.”
Altogether, the Recycle Depot collected approximately 422 tons of material for recycling.
Though the District receives rebates for some of the material it collects, Peters said that all rebates go to the District’s savings account for Depot projects and debris management. “Because of low market prices and the unpredictability of the commodities markets, rebates are not a dependable source of revenue,” Peters explained. “Any rebates we receive are less than what we pay to recycle hazardous materials, such as e-waste, which contains heavy metals that could cause serious problems if dumped or landfilled.” Because the District is supported by property tax revenues, services are only available to Marshall County residents.
“We are so grateful for our county residents who are being responsible with this material,” said Peters. “Recycling is not a perfect system, but we are still keeping tons of useful resources out of permanent landfill storage.”
The Recycle Depot is Marshall County’s headquarters for recycling, household hazardous waste
disposal, and environmental education. The Depot is located at 1900 Walter Glaub Drive, Plymouth, Indiana. For more information and hours, call (574) 935-8618 or visit the Depot’s website at www.myrecycledepot.org.
