Increase in recycling costs caused by recycling plant closure

Recycling on Daniel Island is going through some major changes this year.

The first one is the price increase to $15 a month for curbside pick up by Republic Services, a private contracted company that picks up recycling weekly, said Josh Whitley, Berkeley County Councilman from Daniel Island.

The only change to these pick-ups will be the price. The company will still be collecting the usual recyclables, including cardboard, plastic, and glass.

The contract with Republic is for Sept 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2017.

The price increase is due to Sonoco Recycling closing its Charleston County plant this past August, and Republic having to transport the recyclables farther distances to Columbia and Hickory, NC. The closure of the plant was announced last year.

The Daniel Island Convenience Center, located underneath the 526 bridge near the tennis center, will only be collecting cardboard, according to Daniel Island Property Owners Association update. The Charity Church Convenience Center, located at 1430 Charity Church Road, Huger, will have bins for cardboard, mixed paper, and aluminum/steel can recycling.

“That’s the bad news,” Whitley said. “The good news was we were very progressive.”

Inspired by the Montgomery, Ala. recycling center, Berkeley County will be partnering with Repower South, a Recycling, Recovery, Reuse Company, to create a sorting facility that will go through people’s garbage and pick out the recyclable materials, so people will only have one bin that includes recyclables and regular trash to be picked up.

Some of the materials that cannot be recycled will be made into pellets that can be use as Bio-fuel, according to Repower South website.

“We’re just going to force you to recycle by you just throwing away your trash,” Whitley said, who mentioned this was voted for approval over a year ago.

This ensures that the local landfill will not fill as quickly, therefore the life expectancy of the landfill can last for many more generations, Whitley said. Also the plant will bring in 70 new jobs for the county.

Repower South will build the facility, and the trash pick up fee included in property tax will cover the costs of the garbage collection, Whitley said.

The plant should be operational, employed and running next year.

“None of us like the current change,” Whitley said, “but we are really glad to have a solution.”

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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