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Loss of glass recycling has impact on city

From staff reports

LOCK HAVEN — The Wayne Township Landfill no longer recycles glass, and this affects the city’s finances.

The city receives grants from the state Department of Environmental Protection based on how much stuff is recycled throughout Lock Haven.

In 2016 in the city, only 660.7 tons of plastic, paper and cardboard were recycled by both residents and commercial enterprises. This is 202.25 tons, or 23.5 percent, less than the 863.25 tons collected in 2015, according to City Planner Leonora M. Hannagan.

This decrease is from the loss of the glass recycling program, she has stated.

Citizens, bars, restaurants and other businesses and industries have had to throw their unwanted glass into the trash instead of the recycling bin since the Clinton County Solid Waste Authority stopped taking glass as a recyclable material on Jan. 1, 2016.

There is not much of a market for glass anymore, according to the authority, and keeping it in the recycling program was too expensive for the authority to justify.

Dropping it, however, has decreased the recycling grants the city can expect to receive from 2016 forward.

The city recently applied to DEP for the Municipal Recycling Program performance grant for 2016.

This year the city received its grant for 2014. That grant of $6,400 was for recycling $818.73 tons during that year.

When the grant comes through for 2015, it should be a little higher than $6,400 since the amount of materials recycled was higher, Hannagan stated.

However, the 2016 grant will be lower, again based on how much stuff was recycled.

City council heard these figures at last Monday’s meeting.

Council also heard that the city can expect about $268,567 in 2018 liquid fuels funding from PennDOT. This is higher than the 2017 allocation of $249,006 and will be used for paving.

Two requests were approved, to close the section of Vesper Street from Water Street to the levee for the annual First Church of Christ Fall Festival on Oct. 14, and for the Clinton County Women’s Center to use Triangle Park for its Domestic Violence Vigil on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Council will meet again at 7 p.m. tonight in City Hall.

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