Solid Waste Board Looking Toward Future
WARSAW — Internal procedures and benefits were main topics of discussion at the June 14, meeting of the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Board.
Meeting at KC Recycling Depot, the board heard an update on its ongoing search for a health benefits plan for employees. They had chosen one option but found out it would not work, so they decided to continue searching.
KC Recycle Depot Director Shelly Heckert also handed out a document describing the board’s internal control policy. The idea behind the document, she said, was not to thoroughly outline the policy but to make it known that the policy exists. The policy pertains to things like supervision of staff, as well as safety.
All government bodies are required to have an internal control process, Heckert said. As an example, employees and board members are required to watch a half-hour training video and Heckert must supervise and sign a form saying she witnessed as they viewed it.
The KC Recycling Depot’s front door will be closed for two weeks at the end of June and beginning of July, as Heckert and Sarah Fruit will both be out of town. However, the back will still be open and customers can still drop off items for recycling.
Under the educator’s report, Fruit recapped various activities she held for local elementary school students. For example, local fifth-graders helped harvest a worm garden, gathering 74 pounds of worm castings, 9,475 worms and 467 egg cocoons, which will produce approximately three worms apiece.
The worms and worm hatchlings will be kept as breeding stock while the castings will be used as fertilizer.
Fruit also toured the garden at Harrison Elementary School, which features both rain barrels and a composter.
Heckert also gave the director’s report. Numbers for May were as follows:
- 222 people participated in the electronics recycling program
- 88 brought in household hazardous waste
- 68 people recycled mercury products
- 46 people recycled batteries
- 112 people purchased paint from the Reuse Room
- 79 people and groups brought old tires
She described the annual litter pickup campaign as, “at an all-time high,” attributing the success to increased marketing and awareness efforts.
The next meeting of the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Board will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 12. The board plans to view the training video during that meeting.