(pictured: Martin County Recycling Center)
Mayor Joe Wellman announced to the city council last night that due to China no longer accepting some American recycled items, Martin County Recycling, Washington’s main recycling partner, will no longer accept cardboard that is not corrugated. The Chinese are a main customer for American recycled trash and have pulled back accepting recycled materials as a reaction to American tariffs on Chinese produced goods. Washington’s Street Commissioner, Bryan Sergesketter, said the City of Washington currently sells approximately one 1,500 bale of cardboard to Martin County Recycling each day. Sergesketter said the number of bales will drop to 2 per week, cutting the income of the Street Department and increasing the expenses, since the cardboard will now go to the landfill, which will cost the City money. Mayor Wellman says the City still committed to recycling…but as the market softens, there are less options of where to sell the recycled materials.
The Washington City Council passed an ordinance on second reading directing surplus funds from a sewer department bond issue to be used for capital improvement. The action affirms the funds will be used according to a state law that mandates that funds raised through capital improvement bonds must be allocated to capital projects. That was the lone item of business on the council’s agenda last night.