WARSAW — The Board of Directors for the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District held a pre-bid meeting for 2020 recycling contract bids on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The pre-bid meeting was held after the board’s regular monthly meeting.

Four corporations had representatives at the meeting, including Borden Waste-Away Service Inc., Elkhart; Whitley Environmental, Columbia City; Republic Services, Wabash; and Waste Management, Warsaw.

During the meeting, each company’s representatives asked the board questions regarding the contract. Kosciusko County Recycling Depot Director Tom Ganser said the bid is for nine consumer drop-off locations in the county and that pick-up is currently being conducted six days a week.

“The service that you provide is up to you, whether it’s front-load or rear-load rolloff,” said Ganser. “The specifications in the contract just say that it needs to be kept clean. The locations in Warsaw, North Webster and Syracuse tend to be six days a week, especially during lake season.”

Drop-off stations are also located in Claypool, Leesburg, Mentone, Milford, Pierceton and Silver Lake.

“We’d like to see a bid that you guys can provide that might be a creative option that’s cost-effective for us,” said Warsaw City Attorney Scott Reust.

Bid openings from contractors are currently set to be announced in October.

During a brief regular meeting session, Ganser told the board that the grate on the depot’s oil pit was installed last week. Ganser and Education Outreach Coordinator Suzanne Stokes will be attending the Association of Indiana Solid Waste Management Districts business meeting from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

Ganser said the depot is expanding its shoe program with Changing Footprints, a nonprofit organization that collects new and gently used shoes for distribution to homeless or underprivileged people. The program will now be in Jefferson, Washington, and Madison Elementary Schools, as well as Edgewood Middle School.

“We’re very glad to be expanding that program,” said Ganser. “I think we had about 2,500 pairs of shoes that we put back into the community last year.”

The board’s next meeting will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15.