Press Release

WARSAW — All nine unsupervised residential recycling drop-off sites in Kosciusko County shall be closed after Dec. 31 this year.

The Kosciusko County Waste Management Board met on Nov. 22 to discuss this matter. The main topic for discussion was consideration of awarding the recycling contract to a vendor for 2023, as the current recycling contract for the county’s drop-off facilities expires on Dec. 31.

The Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District Board received bids that were exceptionally high due to extreme increases in costs for fuel, transportation, and labor; and material contamination, etc., coupled with the very weak market demand for recyclable materials. The board had discussions regarding the availability of curbside recycling service as an alternative to the current satellite recycling drop-off areas.

The board was informed that after the first of the year, a waste services company is expanding curbside recycling services across Kosciusko County and expects the monthly fee to be about $8 per month. Curbside recycling collects 30% much cleaner recycling than what is generated at unsupervised drop-off locations. The board discussed the importance of programs and services not available elsewhere, such as education and the collection of household hazardous waste, as being essential to the mission of the district.

In addition, during these difficult financial times, the board was adamant on not increasing the tax rate for Kosciusko County taxpayers. The board unanimously voted to continue to offer HHW collection and educational services at the Kosciusko County Recycling Depot.

The depot, located at 220 S. Union St., Warsaw, will continue to accept HHW. The KCSWMD Board of Directors is optimistic about the private sector now providing subscription curbside recycling to county residents. The hope is that all residents check with their current waste provider and continue to recycle with a convenient, subscription curbside option.