A Service Lost.

Garbage was the topic late last week here. The not-too-surprising news from the Career Development Center that it was going out of the recycling business prompted me to make a few calls. The profit-and-loss numbers provided by the CDC were rather staggering.

They say it cost them $69,000 dollars to operate the Wayne County Recycling Center in 2019. They claim the commodity income coming back to the Center was just over $7100. There’s no way to massage those numbers and keep the doors open.

 The Fairfield-based recycling center became the victim of an unusually poor market for recycled commodities. The center is owned by the county and County Board Chair Steve Ehrhart says vehicles like a forklift and trucks will be sold.

In other words, there isn’t any chance of saving the service. The only operational programs within driving distance of our region are in Flora and Carmi. The leadership that I talked to outside of town confirms the grim reality of the recycling business.

I am not ever going to be confused for a raving environmentalist, but I think this is a crying shame. The amount of increased landfill space that is going to be filled because of the CDC decision can’t be a good thing for anyone. From what I read, it is not a foregone conclusion that the recycling industry is going to stay down. There is hope, especially if trade relations with China improve.

Almost immediately, on social media, locals started bashing the leadership of the CDC for their decision. I don’t question the logic. I just lament the result.