The Citizen

Boy Scout Troop 59 will take full advantage of the 5-cent refund reminders on cans and bottles, as the troop begins recycling three truckloads of cans and bottles donated from the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office Monday afternoon.

The collection of about 1,000 cans accumulated from Cayuga County Jail weekend inmates' spring roadway cleanup.

Weekend inmates are held in jail on weekends from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are released to work during the week. Cleanups are held every year, but this is the first year the cans were donated to another organization.

“We told the inmates that the cans were going to help a Boy Scout troop and they were very pleased,” said Jeff Franceschelli, custody administrator for the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office.

Inmates collected and bagged the cans for the Boy Scouts. Troop 59 will rinse, separate and then turn them in for refunds, Ed Grutzik, assistant scout master said.

“In the end, the money will be very helpful to our troop,” Grutzik said. “It's hard to raise money now for Boy Scouts, especially for trips.”

Once all the cans and bottles are refunded, the collected money will go in a general fund that will help pay for a trip planned in August to Cranberry Lake in the Adirondacks where the scouts will backpack and camp.

Troop 59 also volunteers to clean up the Weedsport Speedway.

“It's amazing how many people just throw all types of cans on the roads, especially side roads,” Franceschelli said.