County accepts $495,000 recycling grant, approves $49,500 local match for new Belmont Street facility

Warren County commissioners approved a $495,000 waste‑reduction grant and authorized a $49,500 county match to build a new recycling facility that county staff said will allow on‑site processing of tires, cardboard and cans and create capacity for later expansion into plastics. The vote passed 18‑0.

County officials told the commission the project would fund construction of a 72‑by‑80‑foot concrete building and an attached 72‑by‑80‑foot equipment bay on county‑owned property on Belmont Street; the building will include docks for recycling equipment and covered space for trucks and machinery. Director Roberts (Sanitation Department) said the county budgeted the $49,500 match in the current fiscal year under site development.

The county described immediate recycling priorities as tires, aluminum cans and cardboard. Director Roberts said tires can be consolidated into larger loads that will increase tons hauled per trip and reduce hauling cost; processed cardboard could be baled in‑county and sold to a broker who would pay an estimated $110 per ton compared with the roughly $10 per ton the county currently receives after hauling to an out‑of‑county processor. Roberts said a used baler could be purchased as an interim step if the county does not immediately win separate equipment grant funding.

Commissioners and staff discussed plastics recycling at length. Roberts said plastic recycling requires additional, more expensive equipment — a 3‑in‑1 auto‑tie baler that can handle cardboard, plastic and other material — and that contamination of mixed plastic streams has prevented recycling at previous county convenience centers. He said successful plastic recycling would require substantial public education and likely a regional approach to aggregate volume and investment across several counties.

Staff identified other equipment needs if the building is completed: a can crusher (estimated $25,000–$30,000) and a baler (used or new, with single‑stream balers starting lower and multi‑material balers in the $250,000–$300,000 range). The project schedule depends on state procurement steps: staff said they must complete the state’s pre‑bid process on August 4 before sending construction bids.

Commissioners asked about revenue and cost‑benefit. Staff said finance had modeled three years of cardboard hauling and estimated that processing in‑county and selling to a local mill would remove long‑haul trucking costs and materially increase net revenue, but they did not present a final ROI table at the meeting and said they would follow up with detailed numbers.

County staff said the site contains a rail spur that could be used long term for higher‑volume shipments. They also noted grant terms that limit certain uses for three to five years in exchange for state investment; after that period the county retains the completed facility.

Decision and next steps: the commission voted to accept the grant and proceed. Staff said tires would be the first material processed when the building is finished; cardboard and aluminum would follow and plastics would be pursued as a later phase, contingent on additional grants, equipment purchases and public‑education efforts.

Speakers quoted or relied on in this article are limited to those identified in the meeting record and staff presentations.