New recycling facility planned in Lowellville

The ‘earth-friendly’ project will create 12 local jobs.

LOWELLVILLE — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has awarded a $250,000 market development grant for Mahoning County’s second materials recovery facility that will sort, bundle and ship recyclable materials.

The state funds will go toward some $1.2 million in equipment to be installed in a new building to be built and operated by Recycle Management Inc. on South State Line Road.

Site preparation is under way for construction of the building, which is expected to open within a year, said Mari Wren-Petrony, assistant director of the county’s recycling division, known as the Green Team.

The grant requires the recipient company to make an investment in the project that at least matches the state money dollar for dollar, she said.

The Mahoning County Commissioners recently approved an agreement with ODNR to administer the state grant, which the Green Team successfully applied for.

“This is an earth-friendly, economy-building grant,” said state Rep. Ronald V. Gerberry, D-59, of Austintown, who announced the grant.

The new materials recovery facility, which will be capable of processing more than 10,000 tons of materials annually, will create 12 jobs, Gerberry said.

The new local sorting center will eliminate the need for Allied Waste Industries to transport the recyclables it collects in the Mahoning Valley to a Recycle Management Inc. facility in Pittsburgh, thereby saving fuel and money and reducing air pollution from truck exhaust, Petrony said.

Any nonrecyclable materials deposited in collection bins in error and delivered to the materials recovery facility can be dumped in the adjacent Allied Waste Carbon-Limestone landfill in Poland Township, Petrony said.

An identical $250,000 state grant went toward equipment at the county’s first materials recovery facility, which opened at the beginning of this year in North Lima and is operated by Associated Paper Stock Inc.

Such local facilities promote recycling by business, industry and residents by providing “a concrete example of how things are processed and recycled” that local people can see for themselves, Petrony said.

Gabe Hudock, president of Recycle Management Inc., could not be reached to comment.