By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Kent County announced this week that Kent County Recycling & Education Center at 977 Wealthy St. SW will be closed and unable to accept recyclable materials from both curbside and public drop-off locations for processing while new equipment is installed.
The equipment upgrades will “improve efficiency and quality by replacing the mechanical screens used to sort paper,” according to supplied material. Renovations will take place starting Monday, Feb. 24 and last until approximately Friday, March 13, according to the county.
During that period, there will be no recycling accepted by the county — from citizens at the downtown and north county transfer facilities, or by contract trash haulers who also collect recycling — a county spokesperson confirmed to WKTV.
“We are giving advance notice to ensure residents can get as much of their existing recycling picked up and recycled before the February 24 temporary closure,” Dar Baas, director of Kent County Department of Public Works, said in supplied material. “We understand this is inconvenient but it’s necessary to ensure we can continue to be a reliable processor of recyclables for the region.”
According to the county, paper accounts for 70 percent of the processed material at the recycling center. In 2019, the center processed 16,692 tons of paper product, the equivalent of 283,764 trees, according to the county. The facility sorts out at least a truckload of paper every day. The screens used to sort paper are original equipment from when the center opened in 2010 and have run for over 30,000 operational hours.
“Periodic upgrades and renovations, like the replacement of our paper screens, ensure the recycling facility is up-to-date and can efficiently and reliably process clean materials for recycling markets,” Nic VanderVinne, Resource Recovery & Recycling Manager for the Kent County Department of Public Works, said in supplied material. “The Kent County Recycling & Education Center allows residents to conveniently recycle materials with a single-stream sorting process, that requires we have screens to automate the sorting process for materials like glass, metal, plastic and paper.”
The Kent County Recycling & Education Center is approaching its 10th year of single-stream recycling. Over the past decade, the center has undergone periodic maintenance and upgrades to adapt to changes in community recycling habits and packaging trends. In 2017, Kent County added equipment to accept paper cartons and improve automation.
“The recycling industry has changed significantly in the past few years due to increased global import restrictions,” Baas said in supplied material. “It’s imperative we make improvements to keep producing a high-quality product in a very competitive domestic market.”
For any updates and more information on the temporary closure visit reimaginetrash.org or call 616-632-7945.
