Tom Ganser, Director of KC Recycling Depot. Ink Free News photo by Kory Stoneburner-Betts.

WARSAW — Kosciusko County Solid Waste Board extended amnesty for the cost of television recycling at its meeting, Tuesday, Dec. 10.

KC Recycling Depot currently accepts televisions from county residents free of charge. This includes CRT and flat-screen televisions.

Tom Ganser, KC Recycling Depot Director, said they have processed 2,600 televisions in 2019 from 1,482 customers. It costs KC Recycling $12-$15 per television for processing.

Ganser also noted a change in the types of television KC Recycling received over the past year.

“We’ve seen a flip from more CRTs to more flat-screens coming in,” said Ganser. The flat-screen televisions, he said, are often in working order. He suspects people are giving away fully operational flat-screen televisions after purchasing newer models, such as smart televisions.

Board members, including Rick Swaim, voiced concerns over the overall cost to KC Recycling Depot by taking in televisions free of charge at such a high volume. One suggestion was to establish a $5 fee per television to offset potential costs.

Ganser cautioned against requiring a fee because some people would quit bringing their televisions to KC Recycling and instead dump them illegally.

The board agreed to continue with television amnesty in its current form and reassess the costs and benefits of the program at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Other business included:

• Ganser updated the board on the projected costs for construction of a gate on the west side of the KC Recycling Depot on Union Street in Warsaw. The projected cost will be $4,075 for 3 16 foot barricade gates from Custom Fencing and 6 foot by 2-foot concrete blocks in between the barricade gates. The gates are an effort to reduce illegal dumping at the Warsaw site.
• The board decided to table modifying the municipal pricing agreements for processing old electronics from city and county government offices pending further study of the actual cost affects on KC Recycling. The board will revisit the issue at its next meeting in January.