BROWN COUNTY RECYCLES

Brown County Solid Waste Managment District Director Phil Stephens.

~by Julia Pearson

“Reduce, reuse, recycle” is an oft-repeated environmental slogan, and for many it is a resolution for the New Year. Since 1999, the Brown County Recycle Center has been a community resource for information and on-site recycling and trash collection. This vital service Is 76% funded through tax revenues for the Brown County Solid Waste Management District, primarily from property taxes. The remaining budget is funded through the sale of the collected recycled materials, donations, plus trash sales.

Phil Stephens has been director of the Brown County Solid Waste Managment District for the last ten years. A birthright Hoosier and graduate of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, he previously worked for Fortune 500 corporations. He and his wife, Marie, reside in northern Brown County.

Stephens sums up: “I believe it is every individual’s responsibility to be good stewards of the environment, both in and outside of their communities.”

The center is located at 176 Old State Road 46 in Nashville and the building is shared by the Brown County Highway Department.

Outside recycle bins are available 24 hours a day through the week, but are closed Friday at 3 p.m. for weekends, and holidays.

Trash can be dropped off during regular office hours Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $2 per bag. Payment (cash or check) can be made in the office or bags can be tagged with trash stickers purchased in advance.

Satellite locations of outdoor recycle bins are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round: Helmsburg Elementary School, 5378 Helmsburg School Road; Sprunica Elementary School, 3611 Sprunica Road; Van Buren Elementary School, 4045 State Road 135 South; CordrySweetwater, 8377 Cordry Drive (next to the Conservancy Office); and the Parks & Recreation Complex, West End of Nashville in Deer Run Park.

In the report to the community published in 2022, gross collection intake had increased 7.4% from the previous year to 763.41 tons. A business pick-up program in and around Nashville includes: the IGA, Brown County Inn, Speedway, Dunham Plumbing, Hard Truth Distilling Co., BP Gas Station, McDonald’s restaurant, and the Law Enforcement Center. The IGA was the largest single recycler in 2022, supplying approximately 25% of the total annual intake.

Individual bins are designated for the following:

CARDBOARD should be clean and dry when it is placed in the designated bins. It will be recycled into new cardboard, partition board, and paper grocery bags primarily at the Eaton Paper Mills.

GLASS BOTTLES & CONTAINERS from food, beverages, and vitamin supplements. Items must be rinsed clean before depositing in the bins. It will be recycled into fiberglass, commercial carpeting, and other glass products in Edon, North Carolina with Mohawk Industries.

PLASTICS accepted for recycling have the universal recycling symbol with the numbers: #1, #2, #4, #5 and #6. In this category are clear or transparent colored bottles, clamshell containers, containers that are used for milk, soap, laundry detergent, yogurt, and cottage cheese, egg cartons. Remove lids and crush to save space. Plastics are recycled into plastic pellets for general manufacturing, carpet padding, and new plastics products, with a path to Mohawk Industries and Nypro Kanaack in Alabama.

PAPER clean and dry, and includes office paper, newspapers, magazines, and catalogues. It is parlayed into other paper products such as office paper, toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissue by Kimberly Clark, Owensboro, Kentucky.

SCRAP METAL copper, brass, steel, iron, and aluminum items must fit in the appropriate bins. Clean aluminum foil can be recycled.

APPLIANCES are also accepted during regular business hours. There is a $20 Freon removal fee for items that contain Freon: freezers, water coolers, dehumidifiers, and refrigerators.

INK & TONER CARTRIDGES for printers and copiers are accepted in the office only during regular business hours.

In 2022, cardboard made up 49.9% of the total intake by weight, with metal cans/scrap metal 10%, paper products 8%, plastics 7.7%, glass 28.2%, and 1% miscellaneous.

Items NOT handled by Brown County Recycle Center include:

Plastic shopping bags, which can be returned to stores. Expired and unused medications are collected at the sheriff’s office. Usable clothing can be donated to the St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Community Closet. Blankets and towels may be donated to the Brown County Humane Society. Hardback and paperback books and magazines can be donated to public libraries for their book sales. Because yard waste can release methane when it doesn’t have enough oxygen to decompose, it is prohibited from landfills by state law.

Throughout the year, special events are sponsored at the Recycle Center for collection of electronics, tires of any size; and for paper shredding.

If recycling is not available when traveling, bring plastic bottles and carry-out containers home for recycling. What looks like small climate-related acts can be cues to others to make the environment a priority in their daily lives.

The Washington Post recently reported on personal green actions: “Scientists have observed that what we do and don’t do are profoundly influenced by how others act.”

For more information about recycling in Brown County, special event dates in 2024, and the Adopta-Road Program, call the Brown County Recycle Center at 812-988-0140, and bookmark their website: <browncountyrecycles.org>.