Recycling falls in line with economy

The value of an aluminum can may not be the typical symbol of a downtrodden economy, but that may change. In the past eight months, the recycling market has considerably sunk, causing the Wilkin County Environmental Office to anticipate less than half of its average revenue for recyclables this year. Bruce Poppel, environmental officer, said the department last year purchased aluminum cans for 70 to 90 cents per pound, with roughly 32 cans totaling one pound. Now, cans are selling for 32 to 42 cents per pound. "So you can see what the markets have done," he said at a Wilkin County meeting on Tuesday. "It's just created a big mess in regard to my budget." Aluminum cans are a somewhat essential part of the department's revenue, as people who recycle cans often bring in other items like newsprint and cardboard for disposal, too. When the prices are down, Poppel said people tend to store their cans and wait until the rates improve. "In my opinion, that drives a lot of our recycling programs," he said. "People are coming to us because they want some cash...when they're not bringing in aluminum cans, they're not bringing in anything else." Poppel said the economy is driving people to buy less, in turn leaving less to recycle, and the depressed market for recyclables doesn't help the situation. Cardboard, for instance, sold at $135 per ton during its highest point last year, and now it's been selling at a rate of $40 to $50 a ton since January. "We haven't seen these types of prices since the mid-90s," he said. Some residents have inquired about halting the center's recycling program for tires, oil filters, fluorescent bulbs, appliances and household hazardous waste to save money. The recycling center acts as a collection point for these items and pays about $40,000 per year to have them picked up. But Poppel said they initially started the program to serve the community and follow state law, which does not allow the items to be tossed in the garbage. Without a drop-off point, consumers would have a tougher time recycling, he said. "Basically, the idea behind this is to not find this dumped out somewhere in ditches, where we as a county have to go and clean it up anyway," he said later. "We generate no revenue from this." Poppel banked roughly $80,000 last year in recycling revenue and currently projects $30,000 for 2010. Although Poppel's optimistic about the future, he's also realistic. "The markets seem to be crawling up out of the hole now, but you know how markets are - we can have a little spike and everything will drop right down again," he said. source:www.wahpetondailynews.com