MOUNT VERNON — The long wait for Knox County residents hoping to drop off yard waste again could soon be over.
The Board of Knox County Commissioners approved a new agreement with Green Machine Shingle Recycling LLC to manage the county’s compost facility.
“At this point, we hope it will reopen on Monday, Oct. 5 in time for leaf collection,” County Administrator Jason Booth said. “We’ve been pushing to get that done.”
The facility has been closed since July while crews cleared and regraded the site and addressed drainage problems. Knox County Engineer Cameron Keaton, Green Machine and Excavation Point LLC provided guidance.
“The compaction of the site is actually very good. There’s a lot of clay,” Booth said during Thursday’s meeting. “The site looks better than it has in a long, long time.”
New surface, new rules, but cleaner site
The county plans to haul in asphalt millings from a stockpile at the Knox County Airport left from a runway project several years ago.
Crews will spread and compact 6 to 8 inches of millings across the site starting next week.
“Once the site starts getting used, if we need to put a gravel roadway in there for cars to go in and out, we can do that later,” Booth said.
The site will reopen as a manned site with new hours and a stricter set of rules for who can use the site and when:
- Summer hours (March 1–Oct. 31): Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon. Closed Sundays and holidays.
- Winter hours (Nov. 1–Feb. 28): Monday and Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon. Closed holidays.
Residents must show proof of Knox County residency to drop off material for free. They can dispose of up to 30 cubic yards (6 tons) of material per year at no cost. Additional amounts might incur a charge.
“If you’re bringing more than that amount of material out to us, you’re probably operating as a quasi-business,” Booth said.
Change means lower costs for county
The county will pay $79,000 the first year to Green Machine for site management. However, the Delaware-Knox-Marion-Morrow Solid Waste District will help cover the cost.
“For us, [$79,000] is a significant savings because DKMM will likely contribute $40,000 to $45,000 annually for that site,” Booth told commissioners. “That would drop our costs down into the $30,000 range, where last year I think we spent upward of $200,000.”
The county plans to install new signage and improve internet connectivity at the site to support surveillance cameras, in part to deter illegal dumping.
“I would like to ask the public to stop dropping stuff outside the gate,” Booth said, noting that people have continued to leave piles of material at the closed site despite signs indicating it was shut down.
Booth said the site improvements cost around $40,000, lower than what he anticipated.
“By using the millings and the county engineer helping us out, we ended up saving quite a bit of money,” he said.
He acknowledged not everyone will be happy with the new regulations but said it was a “pretty good solution from where we were six months ago.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time, effort, energy and money to get this back up,” Booth said.
“It isn’t going to be as open as much as it was, but the quality of service and the cleanliness of the site should be vastly improved.
“Businesses will have to pay, but it’s still free to residents.”
