AUBURN - For years, residents and business owners who dropped off recyclable material in open dumpsters at the city's recycling facility had to endure rain, snow, wind and cold temperatures.
Jeff Liccion of Twin Blades Lawn Care throws away some trash from a yard clean-up in front of the new residential drop-off recycling center at the city's North Division Street landfill Tuesday. Matthew Hinton / The Citizen
But that will soon change.
Instead of braving inclement weather, they'll be able to enter the city's new recycling drop-off center, unload the recyclables and then drive away. Wooden bins on blacktop and open dumpsters are now used.
The enclosed 3,159-square-foot prefabricated structure at the city's North Division Street landfill will be completed this summer.
Under a pleasant, sunny spring day Tuesday, Mark Becker, a maintenance mechanic with First Niagara Bank, brought some recyclable material to the old drop-off facility, which includes orange, tangerine, blue, pink and yellow bins.
Over the next several months, he'll be dropping off old filing cardboard boxes and some small steel parts as the bank establishes a non-paper filing system. So he's happy to hear that the city is upgrading its recycling program.
"It's going to be nice," Becker said, glancing over at the yet-to-be-finished drop-off center. "Who likes to go out in the rain?"
To coincide with Earth Day this Thursday, the city's solid waste department will hold an open house in the centerpiece of the new $800,000 recycling center, a 7,000-square-foot prefabricated structure completed several weeks ago.
The open house will kick off its "Let's Talk Trash" media campaign to make sure recyclers know the ins and outs of the program, said clerk Karen Tarr.
The new larger building replaces a pair of old construction trailers at the site. The new structure houses a large storage area, administrative and clerk offices, men's and women's lockerrooms and showers, a training/break room, and allows employees to work indoors.
"It's going to be easier for everyone," said Frank DeOrio, the city's municipal utilities director.
The project was in the works for a few years. Construction started last summer. Some grading and paving for the drop-off structure still must be completed.
The city received a $400,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation for the project.
The city kicked in the remaining cost, with the purchase of recycling bins and other new equipment.
The recycling center was designed by Beardsley Design Associates of Auburn. The general contractor is Massa Construction of Geneva.
Last year, work on the building was delayed for several weeks because the site in the city's landfill, where the prefabricated structure was to be placed, was stratified by porous soil.
The city saved about $70,000 by moving the larger structure to the left of the landfill entrance.
As a part of the new digs, the city will also start collecting cardboard as a recyclable material with a new bailer that will be purchased and then installed in the storage area, DeOrio said.
Getting between $70 and $100 a ton, cardboard is the most lucrative of all the recyclable material, he said.
Picking up one kind of recyclable a week, the curbside program now takes glass, aluminum cans and newspapers.
While private haulers handle commercial recycling, the city offers weekly recycling to 8,700 households and small businesses. Last year, the city took in about 1,148 tons of recyclables.
Staff writer Craig Fox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or craig.fox@lee.net
Instead of braving inclement weather, they'll be able to enter the city's new recycling drop-off center, unload the recyclables and then drive away. Wooden bins on blacktop and open dumpsters are now used.
The enclosed 3,159-square-foot prefabricated structure at the city's North Division Street landfill will be completed this summer.
Under a pleasant, sunny spring day Tuesday, Mark Becker, a maintenance mechanic with First Niagara Bank, brought some recyclable material to the old drop-off facility, which includes orange, tangerine, blue, pink and yellow bins.
Over the next several months, he'll be dropping off old filing cardboard boxes and some small steel parts as the bank establishes a non-paper filing system. So he's happy to hear that the city is upgrading its recycling program.
"It's going to be nice," Becker said, glancing over at the yet-to-be-finished drop-off center. "Who likes to go out in the rain?"
To coincide with Earth Day this Thursday, the city's solid waste department will hold an open house in the centerpiece of the new $800,000 recycling center, a 7,000-square-foot prefabricated structure completed several weeks ago.
The open house will kick off its "Let's Talk Trash" media campaign to make sure recyclers know the ins and outs of the program, said clerk Karen Tarr.
The new larger building replaces a pair of old construction trailers at the site. The new structure houses a large storage area, administrative and clerk offices, men's and women's lockerrooms and showers, a training/break room, and allows employees to work indoors.
"It's going to be easier for everyone," said Frank DeOrio, the city's municipal utilities director.
The project was in the works for a few years. Construction started last summer. Some grading and paving for the drop-off structure still must be completed.
The city received a $400,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation for the project.
The city kicked in the remaining cost, with the purchase of recycling bins and other new equipment.
The recycling center was designed by Beardsley Design Associates of Auburn. The general contractor is Massa Construction of Geneva.
Last year, work on the building was delayed for several weeks because the site in the city's landfill, where the prefabricated structure was to be placed, was stratified by porous soil.
The city saved about $70,000 by moving the larger structure to the left of the landfill entrance.
As a part of the new digs, the city will also start collecting cardboard as a recyclable material with a new bailer that will be purchased and then installed in the storage area, DeOrio said.
Getting between $70 and $100 a ton, cardboard is the most lucrative of all the recyclable material, he said.
Picking up one kind of recyclable a week, the curbside program now takes glass, aluminum cans and newspapers.
While private haulers handle commercial recycling, the city offers weekly recycling to 8,700 households and small businesses. Last year, the city took in about 1,148 tons of recyclables.
Staff writer Craig Fox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or craig.fox@lee.net
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