MOUNT VERNON — Business is booming at Knox County’s Thayer Road compost site.
The county allows commercial businesses, as well as residential users, to drop off trees and brush.
“The volume that has taken place out there may lead us to take a different action,” Knox County Commissioner Bill Pursel said at the commissioners’ Feb. 27 meeting.
Pursel said other counties do not allow commercial companies to drop off unless there is a mechanism to charge for the service.
County Administrator Jason Booth said the difficulty is enforcement.
“Other counties have someone onsite to monitor that flow during the hours they’re open,” he said.
The Delaware-Knox-Marion-Morrow Solid Waste District (DKMM) provides the county with up to $30,000 annually, which the county uses to grind material at the compost site.
The $30,000 pays for one grinding. Booth said that the county has had to pay for a second grinding lately because of the volume.
“That is the cost that is really exploding,” he said.
Booth said two contractors submitted bids for managing the compost site. Jenna Hicks of DKMM will review and discuss the bids with Booth.
“We’ve been running seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. No way around it, that’s an all-time amount of usage,” Litter & Recycling Prevention Program Coordinator Matthew Baugher told the commissioners on Tuesday.
“We’re trying to keep it to where you must be a registered business in Knox County to use the site.”
Free mulch for residents
Baugher said the contractor should finish grinding late this week. He encouraged residents to pick up the free mulch and firewood.
“The only rule is you have to load it yourself,” Baugher said, joking that the facility is an “all-you-can-load buffet.”
“The more that residents take, the more space there is. We’ve not had a whole lot of extra space out there recently, so what the residents don’t take, we haul that away.”
Hazardous household waste
DKMM will resume its hazardous household waste take-back events on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month starting April 9.
Residents can call DKMM at (419) 751-2290 to schedule a drop-off time behind Opportunity Knox, 17604 Coshocton Road. The fee is $1 a pound.
Drop-off times are roughly 8-4, with a lunch break. Acceptable items include pesticides, fertilizers, cleaners, flammables, oil-based paints, and propane tanks.
Once latex paint is fully hardened in the can, you can put it in regular trash, although DKMM does accept it at the drop-off.
Spring cleanup
Volunteers with Friends of the Kokosing continue meeting on Saturday mornings in March and April at 9 a.m. to clean up sections of the Kokosing River.
Ariel Corp. contributed financially to the project and Republic Waste Services contributed about $2,000 worth of Dumpster services.
“Our thought was instead of just going out once in September, let’s get after it more than usual,” Baugher said.
Anyone interested in helping can check the group’s Facebook page for the location.
You can also email matthewbaugher@co.knox.oh.us or call him at 740-393-6704.
“Friends of the Kokosing, we are a rain or shine group,” Baugher said. “This is a very tough group of volunteers.”
Baugher took the tires that volunteers collected to Mount Vernon’s Trash Recycling Day on Saturday. Knox County Litter & Recycling co-sponsored the recycling event.
“Obviously, these government subsidized events are good because people don’t want to pay $5 or $6 a tire. [This] averaged out to about $2 a tire. I’m hoping the city turns this into an annual event,” Baugher said.
Townships, villages, and municipalities can apply for a grant through DKMM and host their event.
Local groups interested in helping with spring roadside clean-up can contact Baugher to register. Groups can earn money based on the number of bags they collect, up to a maximum of $400.
Baugher provides safety vests, bags, and gloves.
2025 education theme
Baugher said the 2025 educational theme is local wildlife. Presentations will center on how litter affects wildlife.
He will also work with a Mount Vernon Nazarene University student on a waste audit on campus.
Baugher is prepping for the Brown Family Environmental Center Earth Day event scheduled for April 19.
For the first time, the event will include a vape take-back component.
“This is kind of a modern issue,” Baugher explained. “Schools keep confiscating vapes, and then they don’t have anything to do with them.
“You can’t just like throw them in the trash; they might catch on fire.”
Baugher will also attend Pheasants Forever Youth Day, scheduled for April 12.
