Recycling can be problematic in rural America because it lacks the population density to make pickup practical, and in many areas there is a tradition of disposing of trash on your own land. Some rural recycling centers in states like Indiana are losing money and struggling to remain open, Laura Lane reports for the Bloomington Herald Times: "Despite hard work, years of promotion and increased citizen
participation, money continues to leach from many small-town
recycling ventures."
In Owen County (orange on map), where the center has been losing money for four years, the 2013 budget was $100,000, but income was onlky $40,000, Lane reports. In Brown County, budget cutbacks have forced solid-waste facilities to close on Mondays. A recycling center in Greene County has lost money five straight years, and could run out of money before the end of the year. Employee Tony Thomas told Lane, "We used to, years ago, be able to break even, but not anymore." (Greene County is directly below Owen County. Brown County is two counties west of Owen.)
The problem is that recycling just doesn't bring in much money, with newspapers going for a penny a pound, and businesses that collect trash charging $1 or $2 per bag, Lane writes. The solution, some say, is to stop the service. That's not good news for people like Owen County Interim director John Reeves, who lives in a remote rural area, who has no trash service at his home, and takes his trash to recycling centers. He told Lane, "I don't know what will happen. We are taking it a week and a month at a time. Nobody wants to close the recycling center, but it doesn't look like there is anything we can do to keep it open. But we keep trying." (Read more) The Herald Times is subscription only, but some stories can be accessed by clicking here.
The problem is that recycling just doesn't bring in much money, with newspapers going for a penny a pound, and businesses that collect trash charging $1 or $2 per bag, Lane writes. The solution, some say, is to stop the service. That's not good news for people like Owen County Interim director John Reeves, who lives in a remote rural area, who has no trash service at his home, and takes his trash to recycling centers. He told Lane, "I don't know what will happen. We are taking it a week and a month at a time. Nobody wants to close the recycling center, but it doesn't look like there is anything we can do to keep it open. But we keep trying." (Read more) The Herald Times is subscription only, but some stories can be accessed by clicking here.
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