New facility to package recyclables

The new MRF could generate money for the county, a commissioner says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A new materials recovery facility to be built adjacent to Browning-Ferris Industries' Carbon Limestone landfill in Poland could be of great benefit to the community, says the Mahoning County recycling director.
"The most important thing is that the curbside recycling no longer goes to Pittsburgh. It's handled right here in Mahoning County," said Jim Petuch, director of the county's Recycling & amp; Reuse Division, better known as the Green Team.
Petuch made his remarks Tuesday after Gabriel Hudock, chief executive officer of Recycle Management Inc. of Pittsburgh, announced to the county's Recycling Policy Committee that his company will build an MRF at the Poland site.
The Poland MRF, which Petuch said would create 10 jobs, would handle all the county's residential curbside recycling collections, which now go to the company's Pittsburgh facility.
Purpose of MRF
The MRF is a place where recycled bottles, cans, cardboard, newspaper and other paper are sorted and baled or put into containers.
No tax dollars, county money or Green Team money will be used for this project, Petuch said.
"There's a possibility that we're going to be able to negotiate between the county and the owners of the MRF a host agreement where we could get a contract fee" for the county, said Commissioner Anthony Traficanti, chairman of the recycling policy committee.
Traficanti said the arrangement would be somewhat similar to one he negotiated with the BFI landfill.
After the MRF is built, the next step would be for the county to obtain papermills to recycle the paper, a smelter for aluminum and a glass processing center, Petuch said.
The Poland MRF would be in addition to one already announced that would be located at Associated Paper Stock Inc. in North Lima, which would handle commercial accounts. That MRF is to be funded in part by a $250,00 Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant.
Recycling on the rise
Both the Poland and North Lima MRFs could handle materials from the county's recycling drop-off centers, Petuch said.
"There is enough stuff here, and our [recycling] numbers are rising," Petuch said. "We have 160 new businesses recycling that we didn't have last year at this time."
Petuch told the county commissioners the county recycling drop-off center collections from January through April have increased 32 percent over the same period last year.
Petuch reported the county's collections of recycled materials rose 35 percent from 30,372 tons in 2004 to 41,011 tons last year. The increase alone would be enough to cover five football fields 3 feet deep in compacted recyclables, he added.
milliken@vindy.com